When Did You Change?
by Morgri
Summary: Naruto, after retrieving Sasuke, begins to learn a little bit more about why he’s hated, who his friends really are, and why his attitude is beginning to change.
1. Episode one: Retrieval

Disclaimer- I don't own Naruto or any of its characters, but unfortunately for them, I own this storyline

Storyline- Naruto, after retrieving Sasuke, begins to learn a little bit more about why he's hated, who his friends really are, and why his attitude is beginning to change.

Morgri- This story has a lot of Naruto OoCness, basically, he becomes a different person. Also strange pairing most likely, cause I am really tired of the same old sakunaru, sasunaru, and naruhina.

Story begins after chapter -118.

Morgri- By the way, this story takes place mostly in Naruto's point of view.

"Character Speaking"

Flash back

-POV-

_ Thoughts_

Shift in time. POV, or scene

**When Did You Change?**

** Morgri**

**Episode one: Retrieval**

It all began only 12 hours ago; the chase to retrieve Sasuke; the greatest battle of my life. The beginning or ending of Konoha's future, rode on my shoulders. '_Make it or break it_,' those were the thoughts that ran through my head at the time. An all out battle, between Sasuke: King of rookies; and me: The big Dobe. I never would have thought it would be like this though, a brother so filled with a misconception of gaining power that all he could do was run, run the wrong way. Why do I say that? Because, he ran to weakness, to suffering, and to more hate. All of this, what power does it bring? It didn't help me out, all this time, the pain the suffering this village has given me, did I get stronger? Yes, I did, but not because of hate, not because of pain, but because of work. Hard work, that's what makes you strong. They say I'm stupid, that I can't ever compare to him, but how much farther from the truth can they be?

The prodigy, Sasuke, bound to be even stronger than his brother; the one he pledges to defeat, and bring forth the revival of a new clan. Let me ask you this though, how much better would that new clan be? Bread in hate, lust for power, and disgust for this world. Would it really be any better? Would it really help his cause? I don't think so. I know… I know very well the feeling that's crept inside Sasuke's heart. The pain, the hatred caused by a single person. The only difference between me and him, he was offered help, every day. Wouldn't you gladly jump into that fate? Something that could help you cause, make your dream even brighter than before. Sounds reasonable to me; but not to him, he's got to do it all alone. Fool… What will that give you? A bigger ego, more pride?

You see, this is really how stupid he is; but if that is the case, then why… Why am I so caught up in being better then him? Maybe it's because he has everything I could ever wish for. He has Sakura… Sakura-Chan I might say. He has power, popularity… Yet he takes it for granted…

Your right, he doesn't have parents… That's his reason… I guess that's all the reason he needs. Revenge is such a power thing. It can destroy your whole life… batter it up as to the point where you can't think straight anymore. What happens after? You turn into a Sasuke… Running, fearing, wanting… Power, is all that matter to you. You don't care about anyone around. Your friends are only second best, your love… It doesn't even exist. So what's the point, the point of living your life that way? I know, because you think that in the end, it will all have been worth it. You think the pain will all just go away, vanish, like it was never there to begin with

How much further you could be from the truth. A pain of that depth reaches down into your soul and rips it apart. The only cure, some one there to love you in a way you could have never imagined. Sasuke, he had that chance, but he didn't take. Sweet revenge, oh how much better it was, a false cure meant to tear you apart, meant to destroy in every single way that exist and will exist in the painful place called reality. So why not except the cure? Because, that's just not an option, and I guess, I can understand that too.

He left a burden on your soul, didn't he Sasuke? Something you think no one will ever understand, something that I understand so much better than you ever could. The only problem? I'm just the dobe, the idiot that doesn't know a single thing, the one who just gets in the way for the worse, and you know what? That's my reality, something that only I can change, something that I will change, something… I have to change. That's my love, that's what keeps me going… Striving towards that ultimate goal of gaining the title Hokage.

Do you notice the difference between me and him now? If not, let me tell you. I've worked hard, training myself day after day. Every morning, every night, I work to gain my strength. It might seem slow, but its there, showing itself every time I take the stage for a fight. Just a little more speed, a little more power, a little more heart.

He on the other hand, tries to take the easy way out. Pop, on comes the curse, on comes the power. Oh yeah, he didn't want it a first, but his thirst grew. We could all see it, even if we didn't want too. Anko even predicted it, cause she knew well. Now look where we are at. A battle to be fought to see if he really received power or if it was all a lie, a false glimmer of hope meant to trick someone into receiving it. I certainly hope that's the case, because I really don't know how I'll fair in the battle.

Haha, don't get me wrong; I know that strength doesn't opt the outcome of a battle, but I'll tell you one thing… It certainly helps quite a bit. Power, Strength, Speed, Skill, Desire, Heart, Protection… That's what makes one truly strong. And to my dismay, I don't have all of that; but I have… Hope, And I know that, that makes a great ninja as well. But I'm not stupid, and I know that that's not enough to take on someone who does have all of those elements.

I have to take it step by step, line by line... Hit by hit, and all above. If believe that I can win, beat the one person I've longed to defeat for so long, I think I can. One thing that I have learned of the years is that, nothing is ever for certain. You never know the outcome of a battle, no matter who the opponent is. There are so many factors to multiply, Skill is one, but then again, there is slack. There is Smarts, but there is underestimation. I've fallen pray to a lot of these, and each time it's happened, even against the most powerful enemies, it ended up slapping them in the face. A major reputation blow, that not even the crowed expected.

I think I have swayed away from the original topic a little bit. So, I'll get back to the point. Here I am face to face against my arch rival, nemesis person. Sounds complicated huh? Not really, all that's left is to whip his behind into to next week, but that's not looking good. Judging from the way he looks, the curse has taken part of his body, and is already letting its power seep out. I can feel the power take control of the area, a large aura of evil intent fills the every rock, every pebble, every ripple of water. It really brings fear into my heart, but if I show that, this battle will already be over.

Intimidation is a big part of a fight. It can be used to bring an advantage, or a disadvantage, it really depends on the user. Neji for example, was able to intimidate Hinata, who in turn nearly forfeited her match. When he tried to intimidate me… He only fueled my lust for victory even more. In each of those cases, intimidation served as a fuel to victory or defeat. Pretty whacked huh?

I know what your thinking, what happened to the battle. Well, I'm just trying to avert my mind from the killing intent. Why do I, after all this could be my LIFE!! Ah… who cares, I don't have much to live for right now, a promise to a person who doesn't even acknowledge my presence, HA! That's a lot. However, a promise is a promise, and I can't ignore that. Why? Because that's all the hope I have right now. A fulfilled promise, wouldn't that say something? I know it would to me, after all I don't see many.

Well, I found him. Looks like he's not going to stop, time to leap into to action. I'll find a way, to stop him. To fulfill that promise I made not so long ago. Well let us begin.

"YOU STOP RIGHT THERE," I shout at the top of my lungs.

He stopped… I didn't think he would. Maybe he has hope after all. I don't know; I don't want to judge anyone. He could be just as evil as Orochimaru, but you know what, we don't know until we find out.

"What's your problem, running away from the village like this?" The conversation begins… Let me hear.

"Hahaha, that pathetic little village? Why wouldn't I run?" He started speaking a little louder… Sending chills up my spin, Even Sasuke never sounded this cold. "Who can get strong there? In the midst of weakling, wanting only peace?"

"Anyone can," I screech back, I'm not about to let him run the show. That just decreases my chances victory. "Didn't you see, not even Orochimaru, combined with the Sand and the Sound could take us down, Are you blind?"

"Hmph… That because there weak, something I'm not destined to be. I've got a vengeance to carry out, and you're too weak to stop me," he spoke calmly, as if he was completely confident with the skill handed over to him. "Haha, is this all they send me? Uzumaki Naruto, an idiot not worth the time to even talk too? Hahaha, the must want you to get killed."

That hit me hard, not because it came from him, or not because he thought I was weak, but because it was partially true. The village has always hated me. I didn't know but only about 6 or so months ago. A demon sealed in me. I hate it, I really do, but something that life has taught me is that you've got to live with what you got. To tell you the honest truth, I wouldn't have it any other way… Ok say maybe I would be happier with out the fox, but you see, he's become a part of me. Something that I have to live with, not a burden, but a strength. Who knew I would say that?

"HA!" I shout out stupidly, "Show me… This strength that's been given to you, we'll see how much it really helped." And to make matter worse, I'm going to add more… "If you can't even beat me with it, HA! What use it?"

I shifted my body into my normal fighting pose, ready to strike at any time. He didn't back down, and of course, I didn't expect him too, after all, he ad a lot of power to test out. Who better to test it out than on me? He stood there, not moving, waiting for the first move to be made. It looked more defensive than offensive. I braced my self for the first attack. I'll start by checking out how strong he actually is.

I dashed towards Sasuke at speed, retracting my arm, putting force into the blow. With all I had, I went towards him at a speed I didn't know I could run; even he seemed a least bit surprised. I came within striking distance and extended my arm to hit him with full force.

"AHHHHHHH!!!" I screamed attempting to intensify the attack.

My arm reached his face. He didn't even flinch. His arm was there, clenching my fast with power I had never felt. He tightened his grip, causing pain to fly through my arm… A pain I hadn't felt since I fought Kabuto. He took my arm, and I felt my self being forced away, as though I had been thrown effortlessly through the air. My, was he this strong? The power in his arm was much more than before, much more than I could have imagined. What incredible strength.

I slowly made my way back up to my feet; there was no strategy in head, nothing I could do to counter attack. So I stood there, pondering my next move. What was there to do, here I am next to a monster, with power running through every inch of his body, power I can't even imagine.

"Stupid Dobe," He says to me, appearing right in front of me, in blinding speed. I didn't know he was that fast, how could I have known? I knew this wouldn't be an easy fight, but I didn't expect this. "This next attack will penetrate your heart and sever it to the point as to where not even the legendary Tsunade will be able to fix it."

I knew then, that he wasn't playing around; he really wanted to kill me. He really wanted to test his strength out. I braced my self for the attack, I knew I wouldn't be able to defend from it, so I might as well have taken away some of the impact. His hands formed seals quickly and accurately, reminding me of Kakashi, fluent in every movement"

"Feel the Hyuuga's power," He scoffed. His hand burned with purple chakra around it, making what looked like and orb of power held in his hand. What had he done? Did he manage to steal the Hyuuga's special ability?

I felt his hand jab into my chest. The chakra quickly started flying through my skin, my muscles, and to my heart. Then pain, a pain I had never felt before. The blood rushed through my throat and out of my mouth. I coughed in pain for what seemed and eternity. Shocks of pain, excruciating hurt, ran through my body light thunder through a cloud.

I fell…

Was this the end? If so, how did it end so fast? Was he really that strong? Or was I really… that weak?

NO!

I can't give up…

I won't lose. I can't lose, I made a promise. I feel myself moving. The pain bolting through every vain, every artery in my body, but I can't pay attention… No, this a battle of promise. Promise that must be fulfilled and I will do what it takes to accomplish that task… I will succeed… I will win.

"Cough… Is that… Cough cough… All you got?" I talk, attempting to fade the pain away. To not show my weakness, to from a strategy. I knew, if the battle lasted long, I wouldn't win… I couldn't win. So I haft to make it short… One attack… Rasengan. "Let's show off our best skills… Your chidori versus my rasengan…" Of course in my current condition I have a total disadvantage. However, I have a strategy. I hope it will turn out well.

"Hahaha! Do you think you can match up to me?" He threw back at me the answer that I hoped for. I new that next would come the 'I'm surprised deal'… "I'm surprised you're still standing against that previous attack. You think you can last with the little bit of energy you have left?"

"Are you concerned?" I responded, trying to keep my own little edge of the battle, if I blew this, I was most likely gone for. "I am—though—a bit curious as to how you copied the Hyuuga's ability."

Sharingan was enough, if he had the power of the both the Hyuuga and his clan, he would be almost unstoppable, especially if Orochimaru got his hands on him… That would be very very bad, and I wouldn't like that situation, especially since we only got Jaiyra and Tsunade to protect this village, if they even want to anyway.

"Idiot, I didn't copy the attack, I merely reinvented it. The Hyuuga's attack functions by using their eyes to look at their opponents Chakra points. They use chakra at the edge of the hands to hit those stimulated points, or to deal inward damage an organ. I may not have been able to see you Chakra points, but everyone knows where the heart is. All I had to do was put a bit of chakra into my hand and hit your heart. However, I added a twist; I use the chakra to pinch all of the surrounding nerves, causing extreme pain to flow through your body."

Incredible, a whole new attack by just using the main idea of the Hyuuga's byakugen… I never knew that Sasuke was that smart, but then again, I should have seen it, simply because he did the same exact thing with Lee's attack. Recreated it in the form of Shishi Renden (Lion Combo).

"Ready Sasuke! I hope you are, cause this attack will blow you away like it would have in our last little battle" I used the intimidation factor… Let see how it works.

"Hahaha… Chidori…" He had already formed his attack? What incredible speed.

This is it, it's all or nothing, everything rides on this attack!

Add chakra in to the palm of the hand. Begins rotation Accelerate 

"Die…"

His attack reached me, penetrating all my defense… Is it over…?

Never, because I'm smart to, and I have my own little strategy…

"A bunshin…but how…?"

I grabbed Sasuke's arm, spinning his body towards my own. It was over, for the resangen would penetrate his body and either kill him or hurt him badly… I can't kill him… How irritating huh… The one person, who attempted to end your life, threatened you… what Irony…

"Looks like your whole plan failed Sasuke… Now you will feel pain…"

I swung him towards the ground, and using all the force in my hand I hit him in his stomach… He blue ball of chakra erupted around us both, and then silence… I had won, he had lost. The battle was done, but not the pain… You see, the pain never ends…

"H….ho…how…" His words were elapsed in pain… Every word had the flow of intense hurt. "Th…this… power, did… I lose?"

As if his dream had fallen, far from him. He stared into my eyes. Every possible emotion was embedded in his face… Every thing he had ever wanted to say to me… It seemed so much… yet so simple…

"I… I hate you…N..Naruto," and he fell… I looked down at his unconscious face… There was nothing to say… except for maybe one thing…

"I know Sasuke… I know…"

END EPISODE ONE

Authors note:

Morgri- Well I guess it's a start… I hope to here from all of you. Tell me what you think… All comments are appreciated… You can even give me some ideas for later chapters if you wish. Anyways, I hope to hear from a lot of you.

Side Note: As you probably noticed, nothing of this has to do with any of the storyline… and if they fight was hard to understand… Sorry, I'm still learning the whole fight scene deal J


	2. Episode two: Return

Disclaimer- I don't own Naruto or any of its characters, but unfortunately for them, I own this storyline

Storyline- Naruto, after retrieving Sasuke, begins to learn a little bit more about why he's hated, who his friends really are, and why his attitude is beginning to change.

Morgri- Hey, wow, Thanks so much for the reviews, especially yours Ryoko :) Anyways, I had a lot of ask me for the pairing. As I said it will be a stranger pairing. Maybe Ino/Naruto, or TenTen/ Naruto… Or possibly… No, that'll never happen XD

Anyways, thanks for reading chapter 1, and I hope you enjoy the second… Don't forget, tell your friends to read :)

Story begins after chapter -118.

Morgri- By the way, this story takes place mostly in Naruto's point of view.

"Character Speaking"

Flash back

-POV-

_ Thoughts_

Shift in time. POV, or scene

**When Did You Change?**

** Morgri**

**Episode Two: Return**

So… Here I am, holding the affection of all… well ok, most of my hate, in my hands. Pretty freaky huh? At least I can bring him back, hah score one with Sakura. Hey maybe people will invent a new saying… 'A promise kept is a kiss earned' Hah! Sounds good to me…

"Cough… Cough"

Well enough daydreaming… I actually still got a long ways to go… I know the mission isn't complete yet, and I know that the others may actually still be fighting. I hope their alright… All of them. Haha, listen to me, I'm sounding way to compassionate at the moment… after all, I got my own self to take care of… However, I would rather they get home safe than me, besides they have a life to go home to, while I have a small house and a bunch of angry villagers… Oh! Don't get me wrong, I know for sure that their view on me won't change, whether I rescued Sasuke or not, but… At least I may be able to earn Sakura's recognition you know.

Ugh… My head hurts… and my chest. How am I going to do this? How How! I can't carry him that far… I don't have the strength to right now… I need… I need help. Yes, I know… I'm not supposed to need help, it's supposed to be against my character… Pff… Need help… Well! Surprise… I know I need help. You know they explained what a chunin does and despite popular thought, I actually listened. You see a chunin isn't someone who battles or fights for his own good, a chunin is one who battles and fights to protect… That's right, to protect. I think I learned that not long ago, when I fought Gaara, with my life on the line… You know what… I was afraid then… Yes, I was scared of Gaara, even when I didn't act like it.

"Cough Cough"

You see, I beat him to protect someone else. Sakura… The person that… You know… I'm not really sure about her anymore… I used to like her so much! I tried to talk to her, and tried to love her… I really did! What did I get out of it though? More… what would call it… rejection? Nah… more like ignorance… She always just ignored me… She then has the nerve to ask me to go and retrieve Sasuke! Hahaha… and look at me… I did! Why did I do it though? Why, why? I'll tell you why… Because… I still wanted to believe in my heart that everything would change… That all the pain in my life would just disappear…

Oh how wrong I was

You see, the pain never goes away. You know why? I sure don't… because I just… because I… I just don't know. I wish some one would tell me. Iruka knows, but he always just avoids the subject… He says 'It all go away soon Naruto.' I want to believe that… I really want to believe that so much! So why can't I? Why… can't I? Maybe it's because… maybe it's because, it still hasn't gone away. It's still here, in my heart, consuming me… Just like it did Sasuke.

But, I'm not going to end up like Sasuke, Looking pitiful… I'm not going to get caught in the trap of lust, and power. At least, I'll try not too… After all, it only took Sasuke what… six years? Haha, that's not too much time… ok so half of my life, but I am after all, only 12. See… there it is again, the 'revenge' deal. See, I told you it was strong… Proves my point yet again.

Hey, weird things to be talking about no? Especially in the midst of a mission that's incomplete. So I better get going, the others are probably still waiting…

Ugh… Sasuke is friekin heavy! What does this guy eat? My gosh…

"Ok enough complaining," I said out loud to myself. You know, just to see if I'm really still breathing… Phew, I'm tired…

So here I am moving, looking for my buddies… Alone… with someone extremely heavy on my back. Wonderful, just wonderful. I bet your probably wondering where in the world all this complaining just came from… I see your point, I normally don't complain this much… Hehehe.

Did you know that I always wasn't this way, you know now, the way I act. I used to be calm, no to loud. I used to just sit on my swing… Yes MY swing, all day long. Watching the kids play with their friends… hoping! That one day, someone would come and talk to me… It never did happen though, no one ever came.

Oh and by the way, I am moving… just so you don't think I am slacking off… stupid mind of mine…

You see, I always though that, if I were polite, then someone would come and talk to me. That the adults would come complement me on small things… It never happened, that's when I learned that, acknowledgement doesn't come to you, you have to go get it. So! Guess what I did, I turned into a prankster… Yup, and a mighty good one at that… So, instead of just being ignored, people actually knew I was there, they just didn't care. Either that, or they would get all annoyed and mad, and would either cuss me out, or shew me off. You know what, I actually enjoyed the screams at first, simply because I though people knew I was there… You know… But that didn't last to long. Pretty soon the glaring started up, the mean words and the name calling, the fox boy, they brat, the nobody with no parents. Pretty soon the screams weren't enough, I needed more… More people to look at me, to see me. So I became even more obnoxious… I painted over everything, I broke whatever I could find… I tore down everything within my radius of movement. Yeah, I was a really bad kid, but so what? Why was I supposed to care, as long as people saw me, it didn't even matter.

So you see? Acknowledgement is a very powerful thing. I thought I was happy when I was being screamed at, getting yelled at all the time, but in reality, I was suffering… So much. I used the lies to just make me feel only a little better… Haha you don't know how much I wish I could go back to being the polite little boy that sat on the swing and watched those kids… You honestly don't know… I think that would help me out so much more now, than it did then. You understand… why I can't though, don't you? It's because, I am now who they see… the trouble maker, the pain in the butt, the Demon Fox Naruto… and that's what hurts the most.

Maybe if I were to take it one step at a time, you know, be calm now and then, I could slowly make my way to being that calm kid. I don't know though… Maybe I will, maybe I won't.

"Cough… Cough"

Ok, I've been traveling for like an hour now… Sheesh, did I really travel that far from them? I don't remember… I thought it was only like a couple of miles, not all this. The forest just seems to go on and on… Could it be an illusion… No, I don't think so… I can see through illusions, none of these are the same area's I've been in… I guess I should just keep going. Tree… another tree… tree… Lalala…

OH! Here we go…

I came to what looked like sort of a valley. Green plants, filled with dew… It was indescribable how it looked to me at the time. It's like I was in peace, no worries, just like all my worries were… Lifted off. Pfff… I donno why, its must be one of those 'relaxing' ideas thought up in books.

"Naruto!! You got him!"

You know the kind that tells you everyone has something that relaxes them or something… Pssh… I don't even know what I'm talking about… I don't read enough…

"Naruto!! Naruto, hey Naruto…"

"Hmph"

I saw a hand moving across my face…

"Huh?" I said, duh, I must have been in a trance… Dang, I'm thinking way too much today. "Oh yeah, sorry I did! HAHAHAH!!"

"You look really hurt Naruto, are you ok!" It was Lee who asked me this. Now that I remembered, he was the one who enabled me to actually make it to Sasuke.

"Hahaha, I'm fine… It was all Easy.. Easy!!" I attempted to glorify myself… But hey, who wouldn't after beating there rival…?

"Whatever…"

Gaara? What was he doing here… Well, my as well ask…

"Gaara? Why are you here?"

"A mission to help the leaf…" Well his voice is still as cold as ever hehehe… some things never change… obviously…

"Oh… Well that's cool," I was enthused of course, it's not every day your friendly neighborhood demon comes and helps you…

"…Cool…" Gaara tried to say back… It was actually funny watching him, but I was too tired to laugh…

"OOOOOHHH! YESH!!! We are a team now, let's go find the others! I'll tell you what Gaara, really helped me… I was like getting bea…."

Haha, well look that, I knew all along there was hope for Gaara, I'm glad he's turned Goo… well umm nicer than before. Maybe we can be friends, I bet it would make him happy, it would thrill me! Hmmm… well I guess we better find the others…

"And Gaara came back, and used the heck of an awesome Bury alive move thing, and I was like YESH! So, now I can use this opportunity to get Sakura-ch…"

Hehehe, He sure likes to talk… Well that's thick brows for you… Well, I hate to cut short his party but…

"Lee, umm, I think we should go find the others…"

"YESH!!"

"Ok…" Gaara, haha, he is so calm, even during battles. I wonder how he keeps his cool. I guess the fact that nothing can really touch him puts some self confidence in him… And he has got that demon to back him up… Hey sort of like me huh?

"OK!!! Lets go!!!"

We all started to our journey back into the Konoha forest… hehe, I'm tired of forests…

"Cough… Cough"

So… back into Konoha forest… I got some people here with me, so I don't have to worry about enemies. All we got left is to find Shikamaru, Kiba, Neji, and Chouji… Oh and the other two sand ninja's; Who where they, ummm… Temari and kokoro… no umm… Konkura… well whatever his name is.

You, I knew… Well I didn't know, but I kinda figured when I first met Gaara, I you know, kinda knew how he felt. I knew there was something there that caused him so much pain, some thing that made him how he is now. If you think about it, no one normal kid is like that. A normal kid doesn't feel the pain we feel. Sure the may get sad, or disappointed, but there never in pain. Well, that's what I think, but I always could be wrong. You know, well, I just don't know what to say.

"Hey!!!" Yelled the infamous Kiba, looks like that battle was through, and once again the good guys win. Kiba, and Temari, hmmm two down four people to go.

"Ugh… How troublesome…" The always less than energetic Shikamaru spat out… You know I bet he's tired, not of fighting but of working… Well, maybe he learned something, working is troublesome… hehehe…

"Gaara…" Well, there is the less that fluent Temari…

We made our way towards Konoha, every once in a while stopping to rest our weak bodies, attempting to recover as much strength as possible. Only two people were left to be found. Chouji, and Neji. I'm sure Neji isn't dead, he is way to strong. Even if he is hurt to a large extent, he won't die, 'cause he still has a purpose in life, and you know what it is? To beat me… Heh… I can pretty much bet you that that's his life purpose. You know what though, I really don't feel like fighting him anymore. Not because I think I can beat him, because I'm tired… Tired of being the underdog. Why fight, if even when you win you not acknowledged?

Hours passed on our way back and sure enough, Neji was as alive as ever… which isn't very much I might add. I'm sure he will make safely, even if he's got four holes in his body, hey sacrifices must be made huh? Haha, I sound mean right now… Don't get me wrong, it's not that I'm not worried about him, it's just, I don't want to worry about him. Why you ask? Why worry about something that will only make me loose my vision? Even if he was my friend, he is still one more obstacle in my way to attaining the status of Hokage, and I don't need that. Sure I hope he lives, 'm not that heartless, I just really don't want him in my way.

We found Chouji only a few miles from Neji… I know he will be fine, all he did was bun out all his energy. Energy can be replaced with his favorite hobby, what you ask? Food probably, I know I don't have a problem with it.

You know Chouji is an alright guy, I have to admit that. Even when he was underestimated, under minded, he still fought a battle that he wasn't supposed to win.

He won….

See, underestimation is always a huge factor in a battle. I'm sure I've told you that before… Chouji was always underestimated, except for by two people… Himself, and Shikamaru. See, Shikamaru understands the value of taking a battle seriously, even when he doesn't care. He knows a battle will mean life or death Nine outa ten times… I've learned a lot from him since I first met him. I've learned that, it's not always strength that wins a battle, or speed, or whatever else you want to add. I learned it takes thinking, even the strongest person can be out smarted. I think Shikamaru proved that when he fought Temari.

Finally after hours of traveling, and endless walking we reached our destination.

Konoha…

I wonder how they will greet us, seeing we came back with our mission successfully. I wonder what Sakura will think… I hope she thinks well….

End Episode 2

Morgri- I know this is probably a very disappointing chapter, but that is because it was never planned to be in the story. Since I left that first chapter at the end of Sasuke's battle, I had to bring them back to Konoha. The next chapter will be much better, because I had it planned out. Hope you all continue to read and give feedback.

Morgri.


	3. Episode Three: Village

Disclaimer- I don't own Naruto or any of its characters, unfortunately for them, I do own this storyline.

Storyline- Naruto, after retrieving Sasuke, begins to learn a little bit more about why he's hated, who his friends really are, and why he is beginning to change.

Morgri- Thanks so much for the reviews on chapter 2, I hope you've enjoyed the story so far, I know it moves along slow, but I guess I'll have to work on that. Anyways, enjoy the newest chapter.

Anyways, thanks for reading chapter 2, and I hope you enjoy the second… Don't forget, tell your friends to read :)

Story begins after chapter 118.

Morgri- By the way, this story takes place mostly in Naruto's point of view.

"Character Speaking"

Flash Back

-POV-

_ Thoughts_

Shift in time, or scene

** When did you change?**

** Morgri**

** Episode Three- Village**

Konoha, The village where I grew up, the village where everything that's occurred in my life began. We had finally arrived, and successful at that. I stared up at the huge gates; they stood like two gigantic towers guarding a castle. So many memories lurk in this village, things that I would rather not remember, yet there are other things, that I never want to forget. There not I could say happy memories, but more like the memories that make me live. If anything, it's not always happy memories that make you live, take Sasuke for example, his memories aren't very happy, I'm sure he has one or two good memories thrown around here or there, but in his case, he seems to have forgotten of them. I can't sympathies for him though, simply because I don't know how to.

You see, through out my life I've suffered things that some people could never get through, but never have I suffered anything like Sasuke. I never witnessed the death of my parents, of my clan, nor have I been forsaken by my brother… Since I don't have one. However, I imagine it's hard. From what I have seen, Sasuke really seemed to look up to his brother –Itachi- but that changed so quickly. He went from having everything to having nothing, I'm pretty sure it is what affected his life so much. See, we both had it differently, so if I say I'm sorry that all this has happened, I would simply be lying to him. How can say I'm sorry if I have never experienced it? At any rate, things will get better for him, I know it… because I opened his eyes to the truth. You don't believe me? Well you'll see, cause deep down in his hate for me, his mind is actually screaming '_Thank you… Thank you for saving me' _pretty hard to believe huh?

I understand I'm not one to judge what's going to happen in the future, and I understand that I'm not one who knows a lot anyway. However, my journey through life so far has taught me so much, even if I am really young. I think Sasuke has learned a lot too, I just think he doesn't want to apply it. I think he just wants to do what he thinks is his dream, kill his brother… But hey, who am I to judge his dreams? After all mine sound silly to him as well. Oh well, just like him, I never plan on giving up my dream either. I will tell you though, he must be strong emotionally to survive what he went through, even I would have trouble with that.

"The gates are finally opening?"

I heard the voice a pissed of Temari standing right beside me. I turned to look at… I didn't take me much longer to turn away… I think I learned something new… Don't look at an angry, dirty, teenage girl… Cuase if she looks at you back… Egh… I don't even want to imagine it.

"I swear… when I get into a hotel room…"

We started to make our way back into the village, we took everything step by step, each one of us tired and gasping to reach our finally destination, the hospital. Of course, our teammates were our first concern, the Hokage could go second, I don't mind. I'm sure Shikamaru doesn't either; after all, Chouji is one of those that are hurt. Yes, as you guessed it, Chouji is prolly Shikamaru's best friend, even if it doesn't show. How do I know? I don't, I just guess, it seems reasonable you know, one extremely quiet, the other exasperatingly stingy, you get the point don't you?

We passed the village gates and entered the village, seeing a crowd of people watching make our way back. No one, however, offered to help, they just stood there, astonished, and I mean why shouldn't they be, Shikamaru just completed his first mission as a chunin, on top of that, it was a high rank mission with one chunin and a bunch of genin. To think that it was successful too, even with out deaths… or so, that had been the case so far. Heh, for us, we still had what seemed like an eternity to go. You know what they say, the last five seconds are always the longest… they weren't kidding.

The wind bristled by our tired bodies, every flag waving towards our direction. The dirt flew beneath our sandals and the grass poked our dirty feet. The wind made a chilling sound, my body shivered and the winds cold bite, and my lungs breathed out in quick faces, something like small gaps. Slowly but certainly we made our way through, until… we stopped.

The first movement we had seen in the village, the sounds of those most important to use, our teammates, and well, their families. Each one ran in looking for their beloved sons. Kiba came first, the moans of happy dog's awaiting the masters, tears of joy, and well the occasional scold 'you're never going on a mission again… but I'm so proud of you.' Next came Shikimaru's parents, followed by Chouji's who's quickly help Shikimaru, and thanked him for bringing their son back alive. Ino saluted the group, she glanced at chouji with a look of worry in her eyes, and then looked at Shikamaru with much approval, and looked over to me, or should I say Sasuke, and their came a glance of worry. Soon, came Hinata, who gave a hardly understandable 'We..Welcome back… Naruto-kun' followed by a quick look at and gasp when she saw Neji.

Everything was going according to the way I thought. Then came my second greeting, my teammate Sakura-chan.

"Naruto! What happened to Sasuke-kun? Is he going to be alright?" She asked, apparent fear in her eyes, after seeing Sasuke. "Hurry, here give him to me, I got to take him to the hospital, come on Naruto… He looks really hurt."

I looked to the ground, not really aware of why I did. I mean I was sorta concerned about Sasuke's health, but I didn't really… care about Sasuke right now… I had a weird feeling in my chest, something different than I had felt in a long time.

"Yeah…" Is all I could say, after all, there really wasn't anything else to say.

I saw Tenten wiz by me with Lee, Neji in her arms and Lee by his side, it was apparent where they were going. It was where I was about to go. Then Ino appeared in front of me…

"Is Sasuke-kun gonna be alright Sakura?" She said, looking at the unconscious boy that lay on my shoulders. Once again, I felt that feeling cringe in my stomach, but I guess I should just ignore it, it useless to wonder what it is at a time like this I suppose. I saw Temari glance my way with a 'Those girls need hobbies' disproval look. I decided to look away.

So, I started to move once again towards the hospital, Sakura-chan and Ino following me behind. I heard them mumbling some stuff to each, each trying to sound more worried than the other, or so… that's what I could make out. I increased my speed, hoping to actually gain some distance from them, for some reason, I really didn't want to hear them, nor acknowledge them. Finally I saw the hospital, and I made my way towards the building. Pacing didn't help my own condition, I felt my through fill up with air.

"Cough, Cough… Cough" Ouch those were kind of painful, but that's alright. I'm almost their, just a couple more feet and… yes! I made it, now just to get Sasuke to a doctor. I went into the building and up to the desk, "I need a doctor," To my surprise it took her only seconds to go get one after she saw the unconscious Uchiha. I felt the nurses lift the boy from my shoulders, and watched them take him towards an operation room. The Doctor stood there, waiting for the nurses to put the boy on the table.

I felt myself being pushed to the floor, the two girls rushed towards the operation room, only to be stopped by a nurse.

"You can't go in there, they are operating, please wait in the room over there." She said.

Obviously, Ino and Sakura tramped into the waiting room and sat on the nearest chairs to the operation room. I got up and decided it was time to go. To tell you the truth I wasn't that happy, cause I had better things to do, than to watch the two girls mope of Sasuke.

My clothes are torn, it must have happened during my battles with Sasuke and the freaky bone guy. Shoot, it was my last pair, I might as well go and get some new ones, being I don't want to wear these for the rest of my life. So I left the hospital and started to go towards a clothing store.

So I left the hospital and headed towards my new destination. I walked through my village, passed my favorite ramen stand, passed my house, our training ground, and finally arrived at a clothing store. I bought what I needed, of course clothes weren't my greatest concern right now, I still had to check with the Hokage… Well, I think. Besides, I don't think it will be that harsh to visit her, I mean she is kind of nice to me… a little I guess. Anyways, It's a lot better than you know, being alone…

So I began to walk towards the Hokage's home, only to be stopped by some one else.

"Naruto! Good job on your mission,"

I turned around to see the smiling man, it was Iruka, I smiled my normal smile and went to him. "Hmmm…? Ah Iruka-sensei, I guess I did a good job this time," I said.

"You sure did! Anyway, to celebrate how about I take you out for some ramen tonight? Say at like 9:00 or so? I got some stuff I've got to take care of before I can, but what do you say?" He asked me, and of course I would never wave an opportunity to get some ramen, it's just to good of a deal, especially from the Ichitaku.

"Ok, Iruka-sensei, I'll see you then! I have to go see Hokage first."

"Then it's settled, see you tonight Naruto." He said, and with that he was off towards the Ninja Academy to do some teaching.

Free ramen tonight, hmmm maybe today isn't such a bad day after all. Now to go see the Hokage.

Once again, I made my way towards the Hokage, it wouldn't be long before I got there, after all it wasn't that far away. House by house, block by block, road by road, I finally made it to the Hokage's place. I went upstairs to knock on the door, but before I could she had already answered…

"Ah, Naruto-kun come in, come in,"

"Hai, Hokage… Eh Oba-san,"

"I'm am really proud of how the mission turned out, no one was killed, Sasuke Uchiha was retrieved, and now Orochimaru will have to come up with a new plan, which gives us time to think…"

"Since when did you start thinking," I asked, obviously just trying to tick her off. I was awarded with the hand to my head, and sever pain afterward. Note to self, don't make Tsunade mad, cause it hurts.

"How do you feel?" She asked out of the blue.

"Huh?"

"How do you feel, About the mission?" She asked again.

"Well, I'm happy that we made it back, and that everyone is safe… I'm happy because…" I couldn't think of much else to say. "Iruka-sensei is taking me out for ramen tonight!"

"Ah! That's great, well I hope you enjoy it, for now though, I have to get back to all this annoying, never-ending paperwork." She sighed… "Ah by the way, I like the clothes," She winked.

"Huh, these ugly things… PFFFF… I'm just waiting to get another one of the jackets fixed, my other got annihilated."

"Hmm… whatever you say… Good-bye Naruto-kun." She announced and left towards her messy desk.

Time went by slowly and walking at the slow pace I was going did help either. So I ran back home, eagerly awaiting for 9:00, but with my luck you know that won't come soon… Humph stupid 24 hour days, THERE TO LONG!!!!!!!! Okay calming down, I guess I'll just go to sleep for a while.

I went to my bed, I made my self comfortable. Now I just… got… to… fall asl… asleep…

-End Episode three

I forgot what the name of the ramen stand was, so if you can give me it I would deeply appreciate it.

Morgri- Yes I know, and short and slow chapter. I'm sorry it took so long to get up there, I've just been so busy. Anyways read and review to tell me what you think. Also suggestions are welcome, and tell your friends to read as well. Thanks.


	4. Episode Four: Frozen

Disclaimer- I don't own Naruto or any of its characters, unfortunately for them, I do own this storyline.

Storyline- Naruto, after retrieving Sasuke, begins to learn a little bit more about why he's hated, who his friends really are, and why he is beginning to change.

Morgri- Thank you all for reading and reviewing the 3rd chapter in my story, I deeply appreciate your thoughts and advice given to me. You'll see what happening with his thought process soon Ronin 101, just read on my friend. And remember to read my other story Shattered.

Anyways, thanks for reading chapter 3, and I hope you enjoy the fourth… Don't forget, tell your friends to read :)

Story begins after chapter 118.

Morgri- By the way, this story takes place mostly in Naruto's point of view.

"Character Speaking"

Flash Back

-POV-

_Thoughts_

Shift in time, or scene

**When did you change?**

******Morgri**

**Episode Four – Frozen**

****_Dreams are dreams, The Sky is limitless, the sea is endless…_

_I'm not playing the fool anymore…_

_Cause_

_I still got my Soul…'_

**_"Wake up, or you'll be late…"_**

****

_"Huh?"_

**"_Wake up, or you'll be late…"_**

****

_"Who, Where… Who are you?_

**_"Wake up, or you'll be late…"_**

****

_"Where am I?"_

**_"Wake up… Or you'll be late…" _**The voice seemed to get more distant… **_"Wake up…… or you'll be late…" _**And more distant… **_"or… you… b…"_**

****

"Huh… Where am I?"

I looked around, trying to focus in to where I was at. I saw a clock, a small blanket…

Then I realized… I was in my house. I looked around bewildered, this wasn't where I was before. It was cold, and dark… It was damp, like… Like somewhere I had never been before… But… It felt like I had been there before. It felt… That voice, who was it? It was strong, and confident… Harsh, but compassionate, as if it wanted to help me, as if it wanted to protect me.

But…

**R**_I**I**_**I**I**_I_I**I**I_I_**_I_I_I**I**_**I**I**_II_**_II**III**_**IIIIIIIII**_IIIIIIIN**NNN**GGGGG_

"Huh" I looked at the ringing clock… It read 8:30… "Oh, it must be time to go…" I realized.

I got up out of bed, and wobbled to the door, the affects of our missions still hadn't worn out and I still felt tired. In thirty minutes I would see Iruka, smiling and treating me for ramen… But I don't feel excited about that today… I don't feel happy today.

Ugh…

I trotted down stairs, and made my way to the streets, to head to the Ichiraku. It didn't take long for the villagers to make my long day even longer… The stares and glares shot my way. They were different this time. They were more hateful, hateful as if I had done something wrong today, as if I had failed my mission. I lowered my head to the ground. Normally, I would have just smiled and ignored them, but for some reason, today I can't.

I can't smile…

So much has happened today, and I even though I try to act like Naruto…

Naruto…

Who is Naruto? Am I really Naruto, the always laughing, always smiling boy that trots down the streets playing pranks every day? Or… Is that just who everyone wants me to be? To… To tell you the truth, I hate being Naruto… I hate it because… Because I can't be me… I can't be Uzumaki Naruto…

You ask me… well who is Uzumaki Naruto? Would you believe me if I told you that I really don't know who I am? It's been so long since I've been myself that all the façade's and different personalities have made me forget.

No… They didn't make me forget, I made myself forget, but in reality, my reality, I haven't forgotten who I really am. In fact, I want to be who I really am, but the only problem is everyone else doesn't. They have only ever seen this Naruto, the fake one. I really have no intentions of changing that either. The only problem is, is that everyday the fake one seems to slip a little more, and constantly, all my weaknesses are being shown.

But what can you do…?

"Naruto!!!"

I was snapped out of my thoughts. I like towards the sound of a voice. To my surprise it was…

"Ino?"

"Hey wait up," she screamed.

I stopped in place. What in the world would Ino want from me? I hope I didn't do anything wrong, it would just make today more miserable.

"Hmmm? Can I help you?" I asked, not really paying attention to anything I was doing.

She gave me a weird look, like had done something wrong. Though, she didn't have the hateful eyes that everyone else had. She was looking at me differently. Even Sakura glared at me with the eyes of the villagers, more times that I can think of.

"Hey, I…" She stopped, seemingly searching for the words to use. "I…" She went back into thought again. "Ha, funny I'm doing this to Naruto of all people," She spoke to herself.

"…" I just watched her, kind of interested, and on the other hand, kind of fearful… What a strange girl.

"Hey, well where are you going?" She finally finished a sentence.

"To the Ramen stand."

"The ramen stand, for what?" She asked again.

"Well, Iruka is treating me to some Ramen, for completing the mission." I like over to her, and gave her a small smile.

"Oh, well you don't mind if I join you, do you?"

Now this caught my attention. Why in the world, would she want to come with me of all people, to a ramen stand. I mean, lets think about it, this is what, the first, no wait maybe second time this girl has talked to me. Hey, how bad could it be, at least I won't be alone walking through the village, which is pretty uncommon.

"No, it's fi…COUGH COUGH" Another cough attack hit me. "Sorry, sure you can come with me."

"Alright! Lets go!" She took my arm and dragged me across the village, seemingly as fast as she could.

--Ino's POV—(Heh, see I told you I would switch it sooner or later :p)---

Well, I never thought I would have seen this coming. Here I am with the most obnoxious boy in Konoha, and I actually asked him if I could go with him. Great job Ino, now I'm stuck with him for another who knows how long. Remind me again now, why did I decide to do this? Oh… oh yeah, thank him for bringing Sasuke back to the village. Tell me again now, why should I thank him anyway? It's not like he did me a favor or anything, ok well so he brought Sasuke back, but I shouldn't have to thank him.

Gosh he's quiet, this isn't like him at all. Pff, what do I know about him? Well I know enough to tell that this isn't him. Hey, who knows… or really cares for that matter.

"Cough, Cough"

I looked over to him, he really was coughing pretty badly, I wonder why…

"Hey are you sick or something, your coughing an awful lot."

He looked over to me, and gave me wistful look, "Just a little outa breadth I guess, after all, I just got back from a mission," he said.

I turned and looked back towards where we were going. I guess there was really nothing to talk about, because most the time he stayed quiet. So I decided that I would make a topic, just to get a conversation going, I don't want to be to board.

"The doctors said that chouji was going to be alright, that he only lost a lot of energy."

"That's great, he was a lot braver and stronger than I thought." He said.

"Yeah, I guess I doubted him too… I guess I should apologize for calling him fat all the time."

"Well that one is kind of true…"

"Haha… Yeah I guess." I said, as I looked back at him, and he gave me another smile.

"I still don't understand why Sasuke-kun would run away like that though…" I said, continuing the conversation.

He looked my way, "I think I understand why,"

"Huh, what do you mean?"

"Sasuke, he wasn't always as cold as he is now. I trust you know, being you watch him everyday,"

I felt mildly childish by this comment, being it was kind of true. I mean I do like Sasuke-kun, but they never really were respectably reasons. Sure he had good looks, and was smart, but what do I really know about Sasuke-kun? I guess not as much as I thought…

"He's, well, a lot like me in a way, but then again he is a lot different than I am,'" He continued. "I guess, it really is hard to explain… I just know." He looked down to the ground.

"I… see…" I frowned a little. I guess I shouldn't worry about it, it's not worth worrying about I guess.

"I really hope things go well for Sasuke, but I'm not going to leave him alone… I think that's what he is really afraid of." Naruto spoke.

"Afraid! Why would Sasuke-kun be afraid? What does he have to be afraid of?"

"failure… Failure"

"…We..well…" I couldn't say much… mostly because I knew that Naruto was probably right. What hit me hard was that in just two minutes I had learned more about Sasuke-kun than I had the five years that I had been chasing him.

"How do you know so much about Sasuke-kun?" I asked.

"Heh," He shook his head, "I always watched him, since I was a kid, because he was like me in so many ways. I thought that, when he had… become… like me, that he would be my friend."

"Become, like you?"

"Yes, you know about the destruction of the Uchiha clan don't you?"

"Yes…"

"Well, then you know why… When Sasuke's parents and family were murdered, that's, that's when he became like me."

"Uh-huh…"

"He used to be really cheerful. He smiled, and laughed, and talked; Just like any kid would. But then he lost his parents, what else was he suppose to do? We don't know, because it never happened to us."

"I guess… But what would drive him to want to leave the village?"

"Revenge…"

"Revenge?"

"Hehe, you know how it goes, sadness triggers anger, anger triggers hate, and hate triggers revenge…"

"I guess that's true…"

Wow, I never thought Naruto knew so much. Then again though, he was always coming up with brilliant plans to defeat his enemies, though no one chose to acknowledge those strategies, but hey, it's though thoughts that count, and he thought it up so it counts.

Well, I guess hanging around him really isn't that bad, well when he isn't hyper anyway. I guess I kinda of judged him a lot, without really even knowing what he really was like. Hey, well I'm not perfect you know… Though, I do look perfect.

"Ino…"

"Huh?"

"We're here…"

"Ummm… yeah… hahaha…"

He gave me another one of his smiles and led me into the restaurant. A whole bunch of people were at the Ichiraku, so I went to sit over towards Sakura, Shikamaru, Lee, TenTen, and a couple of others.

"Bye Naruto"

"Huh? Oh Bye"

--Naruto POV--

After a rather odd conversation with Ino, We had finally made it to the Ichiraku Ramen, and I found Iruka-sensei waiting for me in our usual seats. So I gladly went to take my seat.

"Iruka-sensei," I greeted him with my usual exuberance.

"Ah Naruto, good to see you, ready for some ramen?"

"Of course, especially since it's free."

"Good, hey can we get a, what would you like Naruto?"

"Miso,"

"Ok, give me two Miso Ramens."

The old man went off to make the ramen elsewhere, and as soon as my day started to turn around, I saw an ANBU appear next to Iruka-sensei. He whispered something I couldn't understand into his ears, and then he disappeared again. Iruka-sensei went into thought, and I knew that something bad was happening, if not going to happen soon.

"Naruto, I have to excuse myself,"

"Bu… but Iruka-sensei, you just got here, how can you go?"

"Hokage-sama has called me, we'll have to do this another time."

"bu…" I couldn't think of anything else to say, besides, nothing I said would have changed his mind anyway."

"I'm sorry Naruto," And just like that, Iruka-sensei had left.

So, my whole night had just got ruined. I put my elbows on the table, and pulled the glass of water next to me. There was really nothing much else to do, but wait, and eat, I suppose. Hmmm… so what should I do, their really isn't anything.

--Ino POV--

I looked over to Naruto, he looked pretty sad as he was dipping his finger in the water and swirling it around. I guess I really feel sorry for him, after all, I have never really seen him hanging around anyone… Except for maybe Sakura, and I know how she avoids him.

"Sakura, why do you avoid Naruto?"

"Naruto, what makes you think about Naruto right now,"

"Well because… I mean,"

"Naruto almost killed Sasuke-kun Ino, he should be alone anyway."

"How can you say that about your teammate?"

"Watch this…"

I saw Sakura talk to some older guys sitting next to us. They smiled deviously and shook their heads as the got up. '_What could she be thinking?' _I wondered.

The two boys got up and walked towards the non-challant Naruto. He had just received his ramen, and he was eating rather slowly, and not paying attention to anything. He gave a couple of heavy coughs when I saw Sakura's plan go into action.

The two boys took Naruto Ramen bowl.

"Huh?" Naruto yelped looking confused.

"Take this fox boy," Yelled the two boys. They pulled Naruto's out of his chair and dumped the hot bowl of ramen. After that I saw Sakura take her empty ramen bowl and with all her force she tossed at Naruto's soaked body. I hit him hard in the chest.

--All POV--

"aaah… cough, cough" Naruto fell to the ground, his chest burning, and his heart pounding. The coughing fit keep getting worse, and Naruto could only hold on to his chest.

Blood started to makes it way through Naruto's mouth, as Naruto gasped in pain clutching his chest.

"Naruto!" Called out Ino, as she rushed to his side. Sure, she had only talked to him for only a moment, but this, this was out of hand. Naruto was dying, and she didn't know what she could do.

"Help" yelled Ino, "He's dying!" She called out.

Cough, Cough The darkness engulfed Naruto. _'What's going on? Why is it dark? What's happening… Fox, Fox… Where are you? Why does my heart hurt? Am I dying? Hello… Don't leave alone Kyuubi… Please… Not like this… Please…_

_Please…_

_Please…'_

As quickly as possible, Kakashi had taken the now unconscious Naruto away, and was rushing to the hospital.

"Sakura!"

"I… I didn't know… He was hurt…" She said shakely.

"Are you happy now… Not even Naruto deserved this," Ino shot back.

"I… didn't know… I…" She stuttered… "I didn't… know…"

-----End Episode Four.------

Morgri- I know this is an extremely small chapter, and probably somewhat baldy written, but cut me some slack man… I'm in college now :p

I'm aware that it took me a long long time to write this chapter, but please read it and give me feed back. I promise the next chapter will be more filling. So, just read, and give me feedback so I know ya'll are still out their.

Thanks much! Morgri!

****

****


	5. Episode Five: Nindo

Disclaimer- I don't own Naruto or any of its characters, unfortunately for them, I do own this storyline.

Storyline- Naruto, after retrieving Sasuke, begins to learn a little more about why he's hated, who his friends really are, and why he's beginning to change.

Morgri- I appreciate everyone's patience as it has taken me almost 4 months to write this chapter, and for that I apologize. I am happy to say that I am miraculously pulling a 3.8 GPA in college as of the moment. Anyways, please continue to read my story and let me know you are out there. Ah! And read Shattered, you like it.

Anyways, thanks for reading chapter four, and I hope you enjoy number 5. Don't forget to tell your friends to read!

By the way, this story mostly takes place in Naruto's Point of View.

Note that document Manager keep ruining my time shift and scene changes... so I'll represent them as this: --shift--

"Character Speaking"

--Change in time or POV—

**"Kyuubi speaking"**

_'Thoughts'_

**When did you change?**

Morgri

**Episode five: Nindo**

--Ino POV—

"Naruto, when will you wake up…?" It had been a week since Naruto had been unconscious, and Hokage-sama had managed to stabilize his condition. Apparently, Naruto's heart had been severely damaged by charka, though it was unknown by who… although I did have suspicions. The village people were amused, and seemingly happy. Truth is, I probably wouldn't have cared either until a week ago; that is, when I learned that Naruto was just as human as the rest of us.

Before I had just seen him as a poor orphan; a loser set in the way of me getting Sasuke, and a pain that just caused trouble to the village. To my surprise, he turned out to be much more complicated than I thought. It was after that incident that I decided to learn a little more about him, so I asked my parents. Of course my sudden interest in him triggered their anger, and they told me what they had always told me since I was a little girl: to stay away from him. What was more intriguing was that every time Naruto was mentioned, the Kyuubi tragedy always popped up. Did he have something to do with that tragedy? That's what I was led to believe, but in what way, I had no clue. However, the adults seemed to know exactly, and what they knew, was a mystery.

"U…Umm…" Hinata's shy voice disrupted my thoughts. Ever since the incident, she had come into the room and left a flower in a jar that sat by Naruto's bed. This would be the seventh, and I was sure there would be more to come.

"Ah, Hinata, come to see Naruto again?" You know, stating the obvious has always been my thing, but, it would be nice to start a conversation, being that I've been for at least an hour. "You seem really interested in him… but I've never seen you around him much."

"We… Well," She blushed, "Naruto-Kun, he is my inspiration, he's why I was able to change… and get stronger," She nodded, pleased with herself. It was true, since the end of the Chunin Exams much of the stuttering had stopped, and she seemed to be a little more confident with herself. I could see why Naruto was special to her; I guess Naruto has a way of getting people attached to him… "If it wasn't for him, I don't I would have lived when I fought Neji-nii-san. Naruto-kun, he saved me from myself. Since then, father doesn't look down on me anymore. He trains me, and helps me improve, he is happy that I'm his daughter…"

"I… I see," She seemed to live such a hard life, something that I could never understand, but, I'm glad. I'm glad that I was blessed with my family, and I'm also glad, that Hinata found hers. "That's great! I'm glad for you; I don't think I could've lived through that… Hahaha…" She joined in with my laughter, she was happy to be herself, and I'm glad.

"Fa… Father wishes to see me now, bye Ino-chan." Just like that Hinata disappeared leaving me with Naruto. Heh, it's funny how someone can change a person's whole outlook on life.

"Naruto, you're so surprising," I said, as the clock rung signaling the end of visiting time. Moments a nurse can in and told me it was time to go. I glanced at Naruto once more, and swaggered out of the room; leaving him to sleep alone once more.

--shift--

**"Child," **Echoed a powerful yet peaceful voice. Once again I found myself in another reality. A bitter and cold, frightening plain that reminded me of my fraudulent life. Dark, I know, but this is how I keep a positive outlook on life. If everything is so dark, than only light can remain; I just have to search and find it… if it's even at all possible.

**"Come child," **Yet, it all seems so hard. When I learned that I had become the Kyuubi's vessel, I resented the forsaken creature. I mean, you figure that it would be the beasts fault, but there's so much more to it. I didn't exactly do my part either…

**"Once again, I'm forced to clean up your mistakes child," **Says the Kyuubi.

"I'm… Sorry. I'm just not strong...

**"Alas boy, not everyone is blessed with my ultimate and eternal strength of natural talent."**

"Well… It didn't help you much when it came to Konoha now did it?" We laugh… When you're alone, the only friends you have are your enemies, and when only they offer you their hand, you have no choice but to take it. This, however, isn't a friendship of love or trust, but one of understanding- Non-fulfilling, and with condition.

You could call it a pact. I give the kyuubi life, and he gives me a hard ti… a friend. Of course, not at all a real one, but you it's ok when you learn to live with it. However, a tweak of reality puts you back in place, and you have to realize that he is the same hateful demon that he was before you met him. In the end, it's all false hope, and your left only to depend on yourself; for without trust and love, no one can ever be called a real blessing, or be one for that matter.

Just as fast it comes it goes… and once again I'm back to reality, back to where I belong… and it hurts!

--Shift--

**BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!**

"Uggh…" It was hard to talk. I felt nothing but pain, immense pain, as I tried to regain consciousness. The constant beep made my ears ring in pain, and my chest burned like I was being dipped in lava. My head screamed at me, and my eyes begged me to keep them shut. I attempted to lift myself up; but opening my eyes was as far as I could go. What had happened? There was the mission, returning to the village, meeting Ino, Ramen with Iruka-sensei, and… Oh… That's right… Sakura-chan.

"Egh…" I managed to smile… I had never felt so much pain. Not from my body… from my heart. A single tear fell from my eye, as I realized what had happened. But, I couldn't hate her for what she did, maybe because, I loved her too much, and that's what hurt the most. "Hahaha," I laughed.

The door flew open, it was Shizune-san. She too had tears in her eyes as she approached the bed, followed by an apathetic Tsunade-oba-san. With as much strength as I could muster, I pulled my self up as much as I could. My arms gave way, but I was caught by Shizune-san who pulled me up. Lightheaded and dizzy I looked over to the older girl tiredly.

"Naruto-kun… You had me worried," Spoke Shizune, disgruntled. " You're heart was in very bad shape," she spoke, "Your lucky Tsunade-san was there to fix it, or else, you might've died."

"Oh…" Was all I could say.

"Heh," Spoke the older women, "If you're lucky, you'll be out in a week or so." See smiled sadly, as if she was hiding something. I couldn't tell, but then again, I could hardly stay conscious, as if understanding her wasn't hard enough. "Eh… Naruto-kun…"

I looked to my side.

"Flo…w…ers.?"

"Ah ye… yeah. One, two, three, four," She counted, "Eight flowers, "Heh, seven days in the hospital, and eight flowers, someone must really think about you, eh Naruto-kun?"

"I…" I couldn't think of much to say…I don't think I could have said anything… anyway.

"Get some rest Naruto-kun. I have something to tell you, when your better." She said while standing herself up. "But for now, you don't need any more surprises, eh Naruto-kun," She chuckled. She laid me back down, with that, she left the room and once again, I was alone. Slowly I lost my consciousness, and drifted back into a deep sleep.

--Shift--

I awoke in what felt like a much better condition. Despite the pain, I was able to move, and I was a little more conscious than before. To my surprise…

"Naruto! You're awake,"

"I…Ino, what are you doing here?"

"Well… I… good question!," She stumbled, "But that doesn't matter, it's good to see you awake." It was strange, seeing the girl look like this. Without the dreadful eyes that I see everyday… It's more like a breath of fresh air… air that I've only breathed a few times; and it's great. "Oh, do you like the flowers? There are eight of them, mine's the red one."

"Oh…" I stared at the flowers, being captivated by their presences…"Thanks," I smile at her. Everything was starting to look up a little more.

"Yes, it's from our flower shop, only the best in town hehe."

We looked to the right of the room to where the door had just opened. Once again Tsunade had come to visit. The only difference is that she didn't look to happy… and that was never a good sign. All was left to remain positive though, I mean, the most she could tell me was that it would be a little while longer to get out of the hospital right?

"Naruto… I'm afraid… that, your operation had some difficulties…"

"Difficulties," I responded with full attention, "Like what, it'll be another week in the hospital, nothing serious right?"

"Well… Your heart… it didn't recover as well as it should have. When you came in, there was too much damage to fix the entire organ, make it impossible to recover correctly."

"So what… It's not like I have to stop being a ninja or something like that, hahaha," I joked, hoping that what I said was a lie…

She nodded…

"Wha… what... You're joking right… Hahaha good one Oba-san. Now, really what's the problem."

"I…I'm sorry," She spoke calmly, but filled with emotion, "As the Hokage and protector of the people of this village, you are officially… relieved… as a ninja."

It was then I relized that she was serious… and it felt like my whole world had just crumbled…

"What!?" The person shouted beside, and what she said… honestly didn't even matter… "Are you mad, you can't do this Hokage-sama!" Shouted the girl. "It's not like he'll dye or something!"

"Yes!! Yes he will! His heart was so messed up by the charka that it was a miracle he even made it back to Konoha… In fact, if it wasn't for that Darned Fox, he would have died before he even made to Konoha. Do you understand?"

"Fox? What does a fox have to do with Naruto?" The two argued…

I clasped my head, not understanding what had jut happened… until…

"STOP!!" I shouted, quieting down the two angry women beside men… "I, I…"

The angry voices had calmed down, and the two stared at me in pity. Being a ninja was everything to me, my life, my soul… It was esseintally the reason I stayed alive… I couldn't accept it… I didn't want to accept it… but this was reality. The world is never kind to good people, and sometimes… we have to accept our punishments. I guess this was mine.

"I'll quit,"

"What!" Ino cried in disbelief, "What about your dream to become Hokage."

"Haha… that was all just a stupid fantasy anyways…"

"No! I won't accept this! What about you're nindo! Did you forget about that?"

"I'll never… break a promise, that's my way of the nindo… I guess, this time there is nothing I can do, It wasn't as if the village would accept me anyways! To be Hokage you have to be acknowledged as the strongest ninja, who in this village even recognizes me as a person!?"

"HINATA! Those eight flowers didn't get there by themselves. She came in stayed for hours! She cared enough… you saved her!" her eyes teared up, " Me too… I acknowledged you too… is that not enough?"

By now my mask had slipped. There was nothing else for me… I was useless again, just like I had been for the last 12 years. "I…. I… I'm sorry… Maybe I'm just not as strong as you thought I was."

Her eyes softened, "Naruto… I know it's stupid to put your life on the line… but, if there's nothing left… than is it not worth it?"

"I don't know… I don't know what to think."

"Think about your dreams! To be acknowledged! To be Hokage!" She spoke softly, "I don't know what makes everyone hate you, or what happened to your parents 12 years ago, but I do know that there are people that care about you, and those are the people you should pay attention too."

"I… I guess your right, but please… leave me alone now… I'll think about what you said," I gave her my golden grin. It earned me a smile back.

"Good, stay strong Naruto… kun, Stay strong,"

End Chapter Five

Morgri- Phew, now was that hard. Well, I really like that chapter… It looks short., but it sure don't feel like it. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed chapter 5 and be sure to stay tuned for chapter six. Sasuke is in it… hahah just giving a little anticipation. Anyways, I would love to here from you all, as all comments are deeply appreciated. Remember to take a look at my other Story "Shattered" which I'm sure you'll enjoy. Also, Gogyou, a story between five great authors, you'll like, so check it out. Also, sorry about grammer, it's late, and I've done the best I can to correct them.

PS- Thanks for the encouragement all of you give me everytime you read the story.


	6. Episode Six: Sasuke

Disclaimer- I don't own Naruto or any of its characters, but unfortunately for them, I do own this storyline, and heh, there's really nothing they can do about it XD

Storyline- Naruto, after retrieving Sasuke, begins to learn a little more about why he's hated, who his friends really are, and why he is begging to change.

Morgri- Surprise, Surprise, I've updated! Sorry for the extremely looooong wait, but I got tied up with my school year, and kinda forgot the plot I was going by in this story. But I finally got something going again. Also! I'm writing a new story, and I need all of yall's opinions, so send me an email so you can help me.

Ja Ne

By the way, this story mostly takes place in Naruto's Point of View. Also, more than likely Naruto will be OoC at some points in the story. There will, however, be possibilities of other characters POV.

Note that the document manager keeps ruining my shift in time or scene changes… So these are the new representations:

Shift in Time or POV—

"Character Speaking"

"**Kyuubi Speaking"**

'thoughts'

**When Did You Change?**

By Morgri

**Episode Six: Sasuke**

It's interesting how quickly something can be taken away from you; something as small as a simple wish, to something as big as life. And just like that, your reminded how lucky you really were to have it in the first place. But I suppose that's why life is great, because whenever one is down, there is always some way to get back up; that way just has to be found… and that's what keeps so many others down.

At the moment though, that's exactly what had a hold on me: I had no clue what I was looking for. For one thing though, I was tired of lying on this bed, and I really needed to do something; and what better to do than visit my injured teammates? So I treaded out the hospital room.

I passed by the receptionist, not bothering to ask where their rooms were. After all, it wasn't worth it anyway, because she would have just pushed me back into bed telling something in the rounds of "You need your rest." Besides, Kiba's usually pretty loud anyway. It's not like the hospital was that big anyway… Ok, so it was four floors.

"CAN YOU BELIEVE THEY GOT ME IN HERE FOR FOUR WEEKS!" Yup, I think I found them. "I MEAN! IT'S NOT LIKE I'M THAT INJURED!"

"K…Kiba," Someone else stammered inside, "It's… It's for your own good."

"Can you just shut up already… pssh… I can't believe this destiny is mine,"

"DESTINY! WHAT DESTINY? IT'S NOT LIKE YOUR DEAD OR SOMETHING,"

"Well I know my destiny is food,"

"WELL THAT'S JUST LIKE YOU FAT…"

"Kiba you know that word is taboo for Chouji."

"OOOOH! Chouji is not fat! I mean he's skinnier than you INO!"

"HEY!"

"Hehe, I'm not interrupting anything… Am I?" I finally decided to make my intro.

"N… Naruto-kun," Hinata spoke shyly, as she always did. I will say though, she does appear a lot more confident than before.

"NARUTO! HEY CAN YOU BELIEVE THEY GOT ME IN FOR FOUR WEEKS!"

"Shut up Kiba!" shouted Ino.

Neji just looked away and sighed. I really didn't blame him either, and to think, they compare me to him… the thought is dreadful.

"Hey, I heard you went unconscious for a week! How'd it happen!" Shouted an emphatic Lee, earning the sigh's of five other people in the room.

"Uhhh…"

"It was just a little accident involving Sakura and Ramen bowl," Ino bailed me out, "By the way Naruto-kun, Sakura came asking for you, but you were asleep."

I looked away. What happened before still hurt… "Oh"

Everyone looked confused about my answer. Not much longer, I started to feel out of place. More because of the silence than anything, but the stares were also beginning to get uncomfortable.

"Uh… It's a long story," Ino saved me again.

"WHATEVER! FOUR WEEKS!" Thankfully Kiba changed the subject once more.

"How troublesome…" An annoyed Shikamaru put his hands to his head.

"Any word from Sasuke yet?" I asked.

Everyone suddenly became silent, their ears perking up. Apparently that name had become taboo for all of them. But who could blame them? Most of them had nearly been killed chasing him down, that or received terrible injuries for a person they hardly even knew, and probably now, didn't even respect.

"Tch… Don't say that name in front of me" Said Shikamaru in a cold tone. I wasn't surprised though, after all, Chouji had been found just barely alive that day, and almost didn't even survive the trip. Luckily Gaara had shown up earlier and really helped us out.

"He's still in the other room,"

I turned to see Sakura walk in. She looked hesitant and tired.

"Sa… Sakura-chan, I see." I said as I turned to everyone, deciding that I'd leave the room.

"Na… Naruto… wait."

"I, I'm sorry," I turned to her and smiled softly, then left.

Shift: Ino POV--

I don't think I have ever seen such a surprised room in my life. They were more shocked than when Naruto had beaten Neji in the Chunin Exams.

"W- Wh- What was that all about?" Some voice echoed in the room.

Sakura looked away, almost ashamed, and even more so saddened. I felt the need to defend her even though what she had done was terrible; after all she was still my best friend, and now that we weren't arguing over Sasuke-kun, it felt normal again.

"Nothing, they just had an argument, that's all." Everyone looked over to me.

"An argument! No way, Naruto would never be like that after an argument, especially with Sakura-chan. I mean, it's seems like he would be happy to argue with her!" Kiba shouted, returning life back into the room.

"I'm gonna go… I still owe Naruto an apology," Sakura said, in a low voice. Everyone could see how sad she was. She had nearly lost both her team members, and worse, she had the guilt of almost having killed one. She couldn't handle going on with out an apology.

"I'll help you find him, Sakura," I gave her a re-assuring smile. Everything would turn out all right. After all, it was Naruto we were talking about here; no way he'd keep a grudge against one of his friends.

I jumped out the chair, took her hand, and raced out. I had answered enough questions for the day. That and I was running out of answers. Honestly do I have fix everything around here?

Shift: Naruto POV—

It didn't take long for me to reach Sasuke's room, and just as expected there were plenty of nurses tending to his wounds. Sasuke didn't look happy about it either. He just sighed, and I don't blame him, even I would hate a crowded room of nurses, especially if all of them were trying to check my pulse and heart and… whatever else it is that nurses do.

I tapped the door hoping to be allowed in. I'm pretty sure security was tight and many visits weren't allowed, even if he was the prized Uchiha. It wouldn't surprise if they didn't let me in, but I had to find out what Sasuke was thinking when he ran away. Sure for power, but that couldn't have been the only motive. Talking to him would be the only way I could ever find out.

The nurses opened the door. They weren't particularly happy to see me, but luckily visitation hours were still open, and even they couldn't deny me the right to that. They left the room, and I was allowed to enter. It didn't take long for Sasuke to look my way.

"Heh, so Dobe-kun comes to visit me."

"Dobe-kun beat Dobe-Chan," I replied. Needless to say, it didn't lighten the mood up as much as I wished it did.

"Naruto! How dare you!"

"Hmmm?"

"HOW DARE YOU TAKE AWAY MY CHANCE!"

"CHANCE AT WHAT SASUKE? A REVENCE THAT WAS NEVER THERE?"

"SHU… SHUT UP! IT WAS RIGHT THERE! I HAD THAT CHANCE! TO BECOME STRONG, AND YOU WALTZED IN AND TOOK IT ALL AWAY?"

"What?"

"YOU HEARD ME! YOU TOOK AWAY EVERYTHING!"

"Sasuke… you… YOU JUST DON'T GET IT DO YOU!"

"WHAT?"

"WHEN DID RUNNING AWAY MAKE YOU STRONG? WHEN DID HATING SOMEONE MAKE YOU STRONG? THAT CURSE DIDN'T MAKE YOU ANY STRONGER DID IT? YOUR WEREN'T EVEN ABLE TO BEAT ME!"

"ERR… WHAT DO YOU KNOW? YOU TOOK AWAY MY DREAM!"

"NO! YOU TOOK AWAY MY DREAM! I SAVED YOURS! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT YOU'VE DONE TO ME? YOU'VE TAKEN AWAY MY FUTURE, SASUKE, MY LIFE!" Sasuke shuffled a little, giving me a stern but confused look.

"WHY WOULD I EVER CARE ABOUT YOU, OR KONOHA? ALL THIS YOU AND THIS VILLAGE HAS DONE IS WAISTE MY TIME! OROCHIMARU HAD POWER TO GIVE ME, KONOHA DIDN'T!" I looked him unfazed; he still had a lot to learn.

"YOU LIVE IN A COUNTRY THAT LOVES YOU TO DEATH! THERE ARE PEOPLE WHO WOULD GIVE THEIR LIVES TO PROTECT YOU! WHO WOULD GIVE UP THEIR JOBS AND LIVES JUST TO TAKE YOU IN! THERE ARE NINJAS WHO WOULD JUMP AT THE CHANCE TO TEACH YOU HOW NEW MOVES, NEW JUTSU'S! STO… stop being so blind Sasuke… You have everything you need here… all you got to do is open your eyes! Just… open your eyes Sasuke."

"I… No… your right Naruto…"

"What?"

"Your right! I really was weak, back there." He looked away; I had never expected him to agree with me. "I… My ambition to kill him… I hated him… But you were right; it never did make me stronger." He looked back at me, he looked lost.

"It seems like, it only made me weaker. But then why! Why did he tell me to hate?"

"Why did you listen to him, baka? Your listen to anyone who offers you power the easy way. Strength don't come easy, you have to work for it."

"Hmph… Go away! I don't need you Naruto, I'll kill Itachi with or without giving my soul!"

"Well be my guest, but when you end up doing, don't be blaming me in the after life!"

"FINE!"

"FINE!"

I turned around to leave, apparently all of the commotion had caused the nurses to huddle around the door, and they didn't look to happy… at all. Before reaching the door, I was surprised by Sasuke once again…

"Naruto! Wait…"

"Hmm?" I looked back at him. His eyes showed a sincere apology, something I had never seen in them before.

"You… Your… right…"

"What?"

"Your right. I was wrong." He said. It was something new; I had never heard Sasuke refute his own words, and stranger, was the fact that he was admitting he was wrong to me. "I… I looked for power… I should of…"

"Sasuke?"

"If you're still up to it, maybe you can teach me, you know, how to get stronger the hard way." He looked away, and then back. He did something I hadn't seen in years, He smiled… Not one of those annoying smirks, or infamous grins of superiority, but a genuine smile.

"Yeah, why not," I smiled back, "After all, you're still my best friend."

"Maybe we can build a stronger more powerful team this time," Sasuke said, still obsessed with his desire for strength. I could tell it would be hard convincing him that strength isn't the only thing a team needed to succeed; but at least now, I had something to build on. Maybe hope wasn't lost for him; After all, he wasn't the only one that had been obsessed with strength and hate. Gaara suffered the same as Sasuke, but he changed, at least, enough to realize there was more to life than revenge.

"Heh, Maybe this time, we can work together more as a team; that is, if Sakura is up to it."

"I doubt she'll be a problem, she can't stand to be away from me," Ok, now that was a little cold hearted, "a… and you of course."

"Yeah, I guess, only you can convince her of that, Sasuke," I said. There were knocks on the door, and it hadn't even felt like five minutes before they were rushing me out of the room, checking on Sasuke. I felt a little contempt from the nurses. I knew visiting hours were far from over, but in my situation, what could I do except but follow the orders, especially if I didn't want to get hurt. I already had more than one health problem now, I didn't need more.

"Well, see ya, Sasuke."

With that I left the room, conscious of what I had just gotten myself into. With the curse seal stilled sealed in him, I was sure he wasn't ready to give up looking for strength. On top of that, there was our ensuing rivalry, which wasn't going to be much of a help either. Hopefully, this little scuffle had at least knocked Sasuke off of his thrown; because if it did, then things would move along a lot steadier, even if it didn't look that way. The most positive thing though, was the definite fact that Sasuke was willing to give Konoha another chance, and hopefully they would too; After all, he still was their prized Uchiha, and that's all they needed know, even if he had betrayed them.

* * *

End Chapter Six.

* * *

Morgri: Woohoo I updated, and it feels good. I'm sorry I took so long, but in recent events at school and work, I've had a lot to think about, so I kinda forgot the storyling. Luckily after re-reading it, I was able to remember it. I have a lot more time during the summer, so you can expect a lot faster updates. 

PS: I had a pre-reader, so any mistakes are his fault XD

Ja Matta.


	7. Episode Seven: Friends

Disclaimer- I don't own Naruto or any of it's characters, but unfortunately for them, I do own this storyline, and heh, there's nothing they can do about it XD

Storyline- Naruto, after retrieving Sasuke, begins to learn a little bit more about why he's hated, who his friends really are, and why his attitude is beginning to change.

Morgri: Haha, a quicker update, like I promised! Enjoy the chapter, and tell me if you like it! I would appreciate any comments, suggestions, concerns, flames, whatever, thanks!

By the way, this story takes place mostly in Naruto's POV, and for those that didn't read the first chapters comments, there is alooooot of Naruto OoC! I'm a Naruto OoC lover :p

change in time or POV-----  
"Character Speaking"  
"**Kyuubi Speaking"  
**'Thoughts'  
_Flashback_

**When Did You Change?  
**By Morgri  
**Episode 7: Friends**

Unfortunately, Sasuke wasn't the end of my day. As I drearily walked back to my room, I was swamped by Tsunade-nee-chan's angry fit.

"What are you doing out of your bed!" She yelled, demanding an answer. I didn't want to make her even angrier so I decided it was best to just give her a reply.

"I was visiting Sasuke," I said flatly. I mean, it was the truth… Well if you don't count my visit to the other teams and well, Sasuke's screaming fit. Come to think of it, all the fighting made me a little noxious, and it was after Tsunade-nee-chan's second scream that I began to fill dizzy. Despite the Kyuubi's incredible healing powers, it seemed that I still hadn't fully recovered. Well duh, even Tsunade-nee-chan had told me that.

"Naruto, are you all right?" She questioned me. I looked up to see a worried looking Tsunade-nee-chan, and instantly felt her holding me up. I had realized I had tripped, "Naruto-kun, if you use up all your energy, you'll never recover." She looked at me lovingly; is this what it felt like to have a mom?

"Sorry," I replied reluctantly, the dizziness starting to get to me. Her look of concern disappeared quickly as she helped me tumble back to my room. I hadn't realized how tired I really felt until I reached my room. To my relief I didn't have to endure the glares of the angry nurses; it seemed like they kept away after seeing me with Tsunade-nee-chan.

When I reached my bed, she helped me get back into the covers. Despite how I felt, I didn't find myself wanting to sleep, so I politely asked Tsunade-nee-chan to help me sit up in the bed. Shocked by my polite answer, she finally agreed to help me sit up.

"Shizune should be coming soon with something to eat," She spoke, "DO NOT MOVE FROM THIS BED OR ELSE!" she gave me her strict command, leaving me with no choice but to follow her order.

"Yes ma'am," I replied, to save my self from an argument. Once again she eyed me strangely and left, leaving me wondering if I had done something wrong.

* * *

Not much time later, just as Tsunade-nee-chan had said, came Shizune-san with some food. Despite my current situation, I was more than glad to eat something, as it had been a good week since I had eaten. 

"Here, a bottle of water. It's the lightest liquid to drink at the moment and it's healthy!" She said, setting the bottle on the table that sat ret next to my bed.

"Thankyou," I answered, grabbing the water and opening the bottle to take a drink. I was grateful for the water, as I profusely enjoyed the cold water splashing down my throat.

"And here, your ramen diet isn't very good, so I brought you something new," she handed me a plate of rice balls. Contrary to popular though, I did eat things other than ramen, but only once in a while. Ramen was cheap, so I could easily afford it, that's the main reason I ate it so much. One thing I had never tasted was rice balls, or whatever traditional name they used for this things. "It's Onigiri. I made it myself, Naruto-kun." She said.

I brought one up to my mouth, and tasted it. To my surprise it was great, and I quickly took another bite. Shizune-nee-chan chuckled at my reaction, obviously figuring that I had liked the food. I smiled gratefully at her, and continued eating my snack.

Not a minute later came Iruka-sensei, startling us both when opening the door.

"NARUTO! Are you all Right!" He said, in an almost screeching noise, "What happened? I thought you were fine when you arrived!" Iruka-sensei continued loudly, causing my head to spin, I had heard enough yelling for the day. I was about respond when Shizune-nee-chan decided that there was already enough racket in the room.

"Iruka-san, please calm down," She spoke calmly, appearently aware of how I was feeling, "As you can see, Naruto-kun if fine. It would to his advantage if we could be a little more quiet," She finished. I turned to Iruka-sensei.

"Ne, Ne, I'm fine Iruka-sensei, no need to worry about me," I laughed nervously and gave him a sheepish smile. Much to my dismay, however, I knew that a barrage of questions were about to be thrown my way, and I honestly didn't feel like talking about my current problems. I especially didn't want to mention Sakura; I wasn't exactly in great terms with her at the moment, and even the mention of her name to seemed to depress me.

I understand she tried to apologize, but for some reason I just couldn't muster the strength to hear her, much less stay around her. I know, I probably sound like some kind of jerk right now, but I can't help it, maybe some of you would understand.

"Are you all right?" Iruka began his battalion of questions, "The nurses couldn't explain what happened, and wouldn't give information! Why didn't you get a check up when you arrived? What if you'd a…"

"I'm fine!" I shot back. Needless to say, I was beginning to get kind of annoyed. "One question at a time please!" As much as I knew the questions were coming, I was powerless to stop them. That, and he was my sensei, and at least he acknowledges me… Well sometimes.

"Na-Naruto!" He looked at me concerned, "Just make sure to stay alive," he sighed, "I have to report my mission to Hokage-sama. Get well soon, Naruto." With that, he made his exit, leaving me with Shizune, and my more than welcome treat.

I was a little disappointed that he had to leave so soon, but all he was going to do was ask me questions anyway, nothing really that interesting. When I first graduated, he would always tell me stories and stuff about past Hokages and other great ninjas; but after the chunin exams and the war with Orochimaru, the shortage of ninjas forced him into countless missions. Suddenly, he didn't seem to want to be around me anymore. Maybe the occasional trip to the Ichiraku, but that was only every few months.

Despite all the commotion, the rest of the day progressed rather quickly. Nightfall came sending everyone to their own dreamland. However, I ended up in my prison, facing the Kyuubi as I had done many times before.

Maybe this was what started my strange relationship with Kyuubi. When I went to sleep, I always ended up at the same place; Kyuubi's prison; the supposable home of the devastating demon.

I was eight when I first met Kyuubi-san. When I had first met him, the great demon fox had terrified me. After that night, I had gone to ask oji-san what it was. He told me I only had a nightmare, that it would be alright. Being as naïve as I was, I would always believe him; until Mizuki-sensei told me the truth. I was devastated when I found out, not because the fox was inside me; it was more because even the people I though I could trust had lied to me.

Of course, before all this had happened, I had visited the Kyuubi countless times, and every time I was hurdled with threats and insults. Fortunately, the beast would always calm down as soon as I would sit against the wall closest to him and smile. I think the idea that he couldn't scare a young boy aggravated him; so he would just let it slide and mutter some excuse to himself. It was a constant routine, and when I got used to it, I was able to really sleep with out fearing that the demon would do something to me.

"**Hmph—Child, you should be glad I healed you, or it would be much more than that weak body of yours dragging you down,"**

"I-I guess your right, Kyuubi-san, thanks- I guess." Despite the fact that he was a demon, I really had no other choice but to thank him. I realized that if it weren't for him, I would've been dead. Not only here, but maybe during the fight with Sasuke, or against Haku and Zabuza. There are many places that should have died. The Kyuubi's healing powers though, always kept me alive.

It always made me wonder though. Thinking back to it, if I would have died, then the Kyuubi would have had a chance to be reborn, and come back to this world. However, every time I asked why he saved, he would always avoid the question and bring something else up.

"_**You should be more careful, boy, I can't save you forever; even my healing powers have their limits." **_

"_Sorry…" _

"_Say no more, brat, next time I won't save your pathetic human body." _

"**Now boy, rest, for soon you must return to the ninja world." **

"But Kyuubi-san, I was removed as a ninja."

"**Remember who you're talking too, boy! I will not have my vessel being weak, no matter the condition! Understand?"**

"I-I understand, Kyuub-san."

Despite the fact that Kyuubi was only trying to fend for himself, I felt in debt to him. He had saved my life, more than once. Not only that, Sasuke was counting on me… and really, relationships aside, I didn't want to let Sakura down again. Even Ino had cheered me on. I guess it really did mean a lot to me, even though I didn't realize it at the beginning.

* * *

Morning came, and fortunately the headaches and dizziness had diminished greatly. However, I still felt a little drowsy, and slightly sick. However, today I wad determined to get my ninja rank back, and as soon as I saw Tsunade-nee-chan, I would ask her to reinstate as a genin. Despite my injuries, I decided that Ino was right, and that it was better to continue chain my dream than to do nothing at all, after all, there was really nothing left for me. 

Luckily, it didn't take long for Tsunade-nee-chan to arrive at my room, and it would be just a matter of time before I would once again be a ninja.

"So you've finally come around, Naruto-kun," Tsunade-nee-chan spoke gleefully, "Feeling any better now?" She questioned.

"Yeah, just a little sick."

"Well that's expected, you've had a rough week."

I took this conversation as my chance to ask for reinstatement. Surprisingly, she answered with a very assured and strict "NO". Surprise held me back for a moment, before I was able to protest.

"Sorry Naruto, I will not allow you to be a ninja."

"Why not!"

"Because you'll die, and I won't be having that!"

"B-But Tusnade-nee-chan; You just can't take it away with out my consent!" I made my case.

"I can and I will," she shot back. Obviously, getting my genin status back wasn't going to be as easy as I imagined; However, I wasn't going to take no for an answer, and I would be damned if I were to lose this fight.

"It's the only thing I've got left! Please!" I begged. I really had no other choice, "Please…"

She looked at me guiltily; I knew I had one at this point and tha…

"Under once condition! You must pass a test."… WHAT?

"A test, W-What kind of test?" I asked, a bit fidgety.

"If you can touch me once, with your own hands, before your heart gives, then I will give you your genin rank back."

"T-Touch you once?" Despite how easy it sounded, I figured there would be a lot more difficulty to this test than one would expect. If I remember correctly, the last time I fought her, I was the only one that got hit… and she used only one finger. If she was serious, this was going to be far from easy.

"Do you accept the conditions?" It was clear that she wasn't playing around anymore, this wasn't a game; I had no other choice but to accept.

"Ok!"

"Good, Next week at the team seven training ground," She said, "You'll need all the strength you've got if you even wish to stand the slightest chance. However, it's only one chance. Fail and it's over, am I clear?"

I smiled arrogantly, "That's all it'll take."

"Good, now rest, I'll bring you some breakfast soon," She said more lightheartedly, leaving the room. There was nothing left for me to do, except to begin developing strategies. It would take a lot more than a little bit of speed to beat Tsunade-nee-chan, and I was going to be prepared…

"Will you be ok?"

Snapped out of my trance, I looked towards the door to see a very concerned Sakura standing next to an even more disheveled Ino.

"I'll manage."

Once again that feeling of bitterness possessed me. This time though, I wouldn't leave her standing guiltily. I may have been mad at her, but I wasn't heartless; she was my teammate after all, and we needed to trust one another, no matter how hard it seemed.

"N-Naruto, I-I just…" She quieted down. Honestly, was it that to give an apology? It wasn't that difficult for me. Then again, I've been apologizing for as long as I can remember, with out knowing what I did.

"I'm- I'm sorry, Naruto," she spoke almost pleadingly. Instantly, I had calmed down, and my bitterness towards her began to cease… "Thank you," she continued, suprising me with her sudden gratitude, "Thank you for everything." She paused, carefully selecting her words, "For everything you've done."

It felt nice, to be thanked. I guess Sakura isn't… that bad. A small smile crept to my lips. "Nah, nah, Sakura-chan, It was nothing."

"I- Idiot! How can you forgive so…"

BAAANNNNGGG!

Ino slammed her first down on Sakura's head, "Don't you know when to shut up, girl, he already accepted your apology, Sheesh,"

"Don't do that, Ino-pig, what do YOU know?"

"I OBVIOUSLY KNOW MORE THAN YOU?"

"Ehehe…" I laughed nervously, hoping this wasn't the start of some drastic fight.

* * *

The rest of the week passed by quickly and fairly uneventful. Being that every piece of clothing I owned was now either torn or ruined, Tsunade-nee-chan had brought me some new ones. Sadly, she had despised the bright orange colors I had been wearing before, so instead she brought me some black ninja pants and blue t-shirt with a neat symbol on the back (Hey, my sense of style sucks… sorry :p). I had no other choice but to give up my jumpsuit… sigh. 

I took my headband from the table and tied it around my neck (sorry guys, I like this look too :p), and then tied Tsunade-nee-chan's necklace around in it.

When I arrived at the training field, I found Tsunade-baa-chan, Shizune-san, and Kakishi-sensei waiting for me. The test was about to start, and I had already come up with a myriad of strategies that I could use. The question was which one would be the most effective without wasting a lot of energy.

"Naruto, by arriving here, you signify that agree here-by agree to the rules of this test," Tsunade spoke, "One, you can use anything and anyway necessary to defeat me. Two, you must come at me with killer intent; it's the only way you'll ever defeat me. Three, I can dodge using any means necessary, I will not attack. Four, no soldier pills or otherwise any means of recovery apart from that of the Kyuubi. Five, you have only one chance, if you fail; it's the end of the road. Are we clear?"

"Yes," The air changed from calm and beautiful, to one filled with determination and seriousness. Everything was on the line now.

"Kakashi and Shizune have agreed to judge this test, if any rules are broken on my part, then you automatical pass, if you break any rules, then you automatically fail. All said and done, your time start now. You have until exhaustion beats you down. Kaksashi, Shizune," She looked over at them, signaling them to start the test.

"Good luck Naruto-kun," Everything tensed as turned to my battle stance. This battle would decide my future.

"Begin!"

* * *

End Episode Seven

* * *

Morgri: All right guys, thanks for reading. I hope it wasn't disappointing. It was a little bit longer than the last one, so at least you have more to read. I hope to hear your comments, idea's, complaints, and concerns, about this story. Tell your friends to read! By the way, I think I did a good job on the grammar this time, if not, beat my butt and send me to my grave, I'll try better next time. 

Stay tune for Episode Eight: Challenges.

Ja Matta!


	8. Episode Eight: Challenges

Morgri: I know I've been slacking off on this story, but I have a very good reason. Apart from working 30 hrs. per week, I have also begun what we call University. So it's been kind of tough for me actually write. However, I'm still very interested in my story, and will darn right continue. In fact, a new chapter should be up every other Saturday.

Note: For those who don't know where this story is going, I planned this to be a rather long fic. I won't be surprised if it reaches 30-35 or more chapters. You'll see the story line draw out in time. To make more sense, I will call them volumes. For instance, volume one might consist of chapters (or in this case episodes) 1-10. Then perhaps a smaller volume two will come out which will deal on things happening after the end of the "prologue" we had at volume one. After that – even though most likely the storyline will start drawing out – volume three will come out at be all about the real story line of this fic and will probably the longest of all the volumes. Finally, we will probably have volume four which will be a small maybe 3-4 chapter epilogue.

Also, I'm not sure I'm going to continue with first person unless it's Naruto who's being the first person. If a seen is without Naruto, I'll probably change it to third person, I'm not to sure. I can use this chapter as a test run, and you guys – in your comments – tell me what you think. Remember, you comments are helpful, so please comment

ON WITH THE STORY, DARNIT!

**When Did You Change?  
**By Morgri  
**Episode 7: Challenges**

The day was passing slow, too slow. Just yesterday most of the ninja's in the village were – by one way or another – informed about Naruto's upcoming battle to stay a genin. Cutting flowers with my best friend wasn't easy today.A couple of times I had poked myself with the sharp and rather large splinters that the roses had,drawing blood once or twice;but, it didn't bother me. Also, the moodthatSakura and I shared was rather grim, but okay nonetheless. At least it wasn't another one of those full-time eight hour schedules my parents had always given me. Luckily, they had let me off the hook today and given me only a four hour shift – from eight in the morning till noon.

Sakura had finally accepted that Naruto had forgiven her. It took countless hours of persuading her that he had, which annoyed me half to death and made me realize the reason she was called "forehead girl". That wasbecause you couldn't get anything in it! Nevertheless, I was happy that she and Naruto had made up; butI still wondered what she saw in Sasuke. That son of a bi – male dog's companion basically tore Naruto's dreams apart he didn't care much aboutSakura either. I'm not a Sasuke death hater or anything, but… he kind of deserved to almost be killed anyway. I didn't want to bring it up to Sakura, though.

Swallowing air, I let out a deep sigh. The sun was bright and shown threw the window, lighting the flowers. A few people entered the shop, others left. We are a pretty big business, being the one of the only ones in town and all. Most people were talking about Naruto; of course, not in the best way. I overheard manypeople say thatthey wanted Naruto to lose in shame. Shame on them, anyway! If I wasn't part of this shop I would have gone royal on their brains with my technique.

But alas, "I'm boooorrreeeeddd…!"

"Ino-chan!" Sakura whelped embarrassed because of the crowd now looking.

It didn't bother me. With the day as fresh as it was, and the extreme excitement that would soon begin, I wanted out. Of course, when we are in a situation like me, bad stuff seems to happen; bad stuff, really bad, like having to hear a baby cry all day, or parents bringing their bratty, crybaby kids into the mall, or dogs that don't give a crap so that's exactly what they do in _your_ yard. Seriously though, waiting to get to Naruto's fight was bad enough, so, I mean, what could have gone worse other then waiting for this dreadful work shift to end?

"Two hours to go…"

"I'm really excited! Ino-chan!" Sakura muffled.

"About what, Naruto-kun?"

"Kun…?"

I looked toward the ground smiling, "He sorta deserves it…" I was referring to the honorary, of course, but my smile faded, "While I would love to see Naruto-kun win; don't you think it," I paused searching for words, "Might harm him more? Tsunade-sama did say that his heart was beyond repair, that doesn't sound to encouraging."

"Naruto can manage it, has he ever let himself down before?" Sakura seemed like she was encouraging herself and me at the same time. Her fading smile proved it. But I wondered, just how true was that statement?

"Well, there's no doubt about that. I mean she probably won't even attack him, but, what if he makes it?"

"What do you mean?"

"Then he'll enter the tournament, but no one will go soft of him there. They will kill him, Sakura-chan! Who knows what he'll be fighting, for all I know, it could be some crazed super genius like Gaara or something! What if Sasuke-kun joins the fight? Do you honestly think he could win?"

Sakura attempted torefute me, but she knew she couldn't. The girl had turned her head towards the floor. She was thinking. Probably about how she wanted Naruto-kun to do his best, but who would she cheer for if he did end up fighting Sasuke? I knew that she was loyal to Sasuke, there was no denying that, but – like in the gennin exams – she showed a lot of enthusiasm towards Naruto when he fought. She had made a mistake earlier by 'one-siding' herself with Sasuke a week or two ago, but I knew that in the end she had a deep place in her heart for the boy who was her friend. "Maybe… so…" she agreed.

We both fell silent after that.

* * *

Something always told me that my family was killed for a purpose. Killing my brother was supposed to my job; that was why I was put on this earth. I was so close too! Then Naruto waltzes in, acting like an idiot as always, and does what? Beats me? That's unacceptable. If I wanted to leave, I would leave. Couldn't anyone in this stupid village understand that? Why should I succumb to all of their pathetic wishes anyway? Or was I being selfish? 

The curtains in my room caused the light to dance making weird shadows all around me. The television across from the counter was off; however, the neighbor's was far from un-audible. The sink from a room across me was on, but nonetheless it was quiet, apart from the beep-beep-beep that came from the machine which watched my heartbeat. It was the perfect scenario for the mood I was in. Dark, quiet, and eerie, ah, that was exactly what I was feeling. I'm sure anyone could relate! If they were beaten by that failure they would be the sam as me. What was there to look forward to now?

"Naruto…" I sneered.

Maybe he was right.

Thinking about what he said earlier consumed my every breath, it seemed. I ended his dreams? Which? The ones that would never come true, those ones stuck in his stupid brain? I cursed. Tearing the needles off my arm hurt, but I did it anyway. Curiosity filled me. My Hyuuga attack nearly killed the blonde haired bo – rat, and now he was going to try to defeat the legendary Sannin. Hmph, I wasn't going to miss this, it was an opportunity to see how much damage I actually did. If he never became a ninja again, it was fine with me. Not very friend like, huh? Well I didn't care. What kind of friend would have done this to me? Only Naruto.

I lifted myself off the bed and trudged miserably across the room to the closed door. The tile was cold to my feet, and the cool air stung my flesh. This was probably because I was rapped up in hot blankets for the past week. A weak pain surged through my foot after every step I took, probably because Naruto injured it after dragging me back to Konoha. I steered myself out the door and through the hospital; something told me… it wasn't the last time I would bring myself to fight Naruto. He was still my rival after all.

So I walked to the training ground.

* * *

The time had come. Today, my status as a genin – a ninja, would be restored. I was ready to get this started. I was ready to act. The sun shown at its highest point in the sky it would reach today. I had woken up at eight just anticipating this moment. This was to prove to everybody that I was a ninja. If I wasn't… how else wasIto getrecognized? This was much more then that, though. It was to fulfill a promise. Not to someone else, but to me. It was my way of the ninja. How would I ever become Hokage if I couldn't fulfill my own promise to myself? 

But…

Touching Tsunade-nee-chan was supposed to be easy. She was slower then me, even though she was a Sannin, and she was also going to take it easy on me – well, I hoped anyway. Perhaps that meant she would have moved as slow as a Gennin which was, I knew, far below my level. Looking around, it seemed like quite a crowd was interested in me. Ino and Sakura were cheering me on while Sasuke just scoffed when he saw me look toward him. The shy Hinata turned red – for some reason, why? – And a couple of other genin, chuunin, and even some village people, stood watch behind the others.

I wasn't respected that much, I knew. Some of the village people started barking at Tsunade-baba for even letting me try to become a genin again; however, not because of my well-being, but because they thought I was dangerous. Ino and the rest shunned them, however. I was surprised to see Sakura punch one – while hopes for her being mine dwindled, it still seemed I had a chance. I wasn't sure if I would take it though, for Sasuke was much more of what she wanted, well, at least that's how I saw it.

My blood boiled though. I was excited; ready for battle. Taking action, I charged toward Tsunade ready to get this over with. Sprinting as fast as I could I lunged my hand towards her robe, nearly missing – she was off guard! Taking my chance with my limited taijutsu, I swung toward her feet with a small spin kick, but missed as she jumped over it. Trying to kick her while doing a back flip, I felt a weird tension build within me. I was on ground, and it hurt, but that wouldn't stop me.

With one hand on my chest, I lifted myself off the ground groaning. "C-crap, what happened?"

'Did she hit me? That can't be right, I didn't feel anything. Could it be…?' I looked toward my hand. It was an automatic reaction that it was holding my chest. Sure enough, I looked toward Tsunade in disgust. She looked worried, but didn't move. I was huffing; what was I to do? I could barely hold my breath. I heard Ino shout in concern along with Sakura. Other people where cheering; this discouraged me as well.

I was in no situation to complain. Shrugging off the pain, I threw a kunai towards Tsunade hoping she would move. The crowd cheered loud as she dodged, but I heard none of it – I charged her again. Being in a position to strike I threw a punch; first left then right. She dodged. Another punch; another dodge. A kick; a dodge. I was at a loss for words. Was my heart holding me back? Punch. Dodge. Spin kick. Dodge.

"Come on!" I shouted growing tired. I could feel my heart beat. Harder, harder, faster, slower. I heard shouts telling me to stop, that it wasn't worth it. What did they understand! This was my life; without being a ninja, what was I! A complete, worthless, 'dead last. I can't have that! Come Naruto. Snap out of it! Calm down, Calm down.' They were laughing at me, every last one of them. My chest wanted to explode; it burned and choked me like a house caught on fire. There was still a chance!

Chakra. Lot's of chakra… it was my only opportunity.

Spin! I looked at my hand. Rotating chakra burned the palm of my flesh; there was no need for a bunshin, it would just waste chakra. Spin! Faster! Faster! Rotate! Like Ero-Sennin taught me. Concentrate! Blue! I saw blue, swirling like a hurricane, full of power, full of strength, full of my hopes and dreams! Chakra leaking through my system – what little I had – for earlier I had learned that chakra had its limits, especially when one had a bad heart. They never told me this at the academy. The Chakra concentrates on the heart when it's week, therefore less is able to be used. Why? I had the Kyuubi in me! Chakra shouldn't have been a problem. Until they told me that the chakra's strength is directly related to my well-being. So, according to them, bad heart no Chakra.

I had managed however, to make the ball spin. My most powerful attack burned the palm of my hand, screeching, ready to ravage its path like a tornado. So was I! Taking my opportunity with the power that had been created and contained, I charged. Booming at a speed which tore the ground under me, I made contact with her.

No! I didn't connect! Wasted effort, rather, I felt myself leave the ground. The ground was rotating, and Sakura and Ino were fading in and out. Tsunada-nee-chan was approaching me, saying something at the same time. It was impossible to make up. The ground shook and cracked under my feet. Like an earthquake, the earth split. Unable to hold myself up, my body collapsed to its knees and soon my hands were the only of my possessions keeping my face off the ground. This wouldn't stop me! Struggling up from the ground I punched again. Dodge.

She had used her super human strength to break the ground under me. Something I knew she could do, but never had seen. She had lied, though. She attacked. That's why I fell… because there would have been no other way for me to fall if I wasn't attacked. This ticked me off a little.

"Tsunade!" I looked suprised, "You said you wouldn't attack!"

"I said I wouldn't attack you, I didn't say I wouldn't stop you from touching me."

"What?" I'll try again! Spin! Again! Rasengan, an F4 Tornado – a category five Hurricane ready to destroy all in its path skillfully played back and forth in my hand. I burned. My body burned, but I took it. I didn't care! My pupils became smaller, power rushed threw me. The kyuubi charged me up with energy, with intent to kill. I had lost myself. He took control, and I didn't want it to stop! My dreams! Hokage! I wouldn't lose, so I charged again. I created a bunshin which, in turn, created a fake rasengan. People backed away, they were truly scared. I had become what they feared and I didn't care!

Both of us charged in different directions. She couldn't dodge, there was no way! I would win! I could smell it!

BOOM! I connected… to a wall. She created a wall with chakra to shield herself?

I felt myself hit the floor. I was huffing hard. I could barely breath. "WHY! WHY! WHY!" I banged my fist against the floor. I clasped my heart. Had it stopped? MY huffs became gasps, and my vision blurred. I pushed myself to my knees with one hand, and turned my head toward the crowd. Ino and Sakura were being held back by Kakashi. I turned back. I had to lift myself. I had to go forward. My dreams! My promise! I never back away from my promise. I pushed myself up, I couldn't see anything ahead of me; the force that I hit the ground must have temporarily disrupted my vision. I put my hands in front of me. I felt something soft. What was it?

I collapsed…

* * *

"He's finally, waking!" 

It sounded like Ino. My eyes blinked in and out adjusting to the well illuminated room. I saw two, three, no, four people starring at me. My breathing was steady, and I heard the continuous beeping of a machine next to me. Needles pierced various parts of my body, and my head hurt a little. I tried my hardest to lift myself, but was only pushed down by a mountain of four hands. The bed I was in had white sheets, and there was a television set that sat directly above and across me. The curtains were opened, apparently a bluish color. I felt a warm object fiddling with and holding my left hand. The other, I felt, was covered in bandages; probably because of the burns that the rasengan left on me.

I felt cold despite the despite sheets and covers that were designed to keep the warmth in. People were chatting in the hall, I could hear. Probably some registered nurses or doctors taking some poor soul to operate. It really didn't concern me, though. I was tired and wanted sleep, but the people surrounding me kept me awake, and I didn't like that.

"How are you doing, Naruto? For a while there, I thought your heart wouldn't start up again. You had us all scared." That was Shizuna-chan speaking, the voice was easily recognizable.

I was depressed however, in the end I had lost. Was there anything else to live for? Nothing mattered; not the needles in my arm, or the beeping of the machine, nor the bandages in my right hand. Not the patch on my heart, or the cold blue garments that clothed my person. Everything I yearned for seemed out of reach. It fled from me like it wanted to go. It was carried away the by the long arm of a river. _'_Does it matter anymore' I thought about her words carefully. What was the point of waking anymore?

It was at this moment that I wondered if I could ever forgive Sasuke. What had he done to me? And who did I do it for! Sakura-chan? While I still cared for her deeply, I was beginning to wonder if it was worth it. Ever since I was I a young four year old, I had given up my happiness for the sake of others. How could the great God above have done this? Wasn't I ever to be rewarded? I guess in the end, and outcast is an outcast in everyone's eyes. Cause I sure was.

"Congratulations, Naruto," spoke Tsunade.

"What?" I wondered…

"Naruto, you idiot!" said Sakura, "Don't ever scare me like that again." She smiled sweetly. Her anger towards me had left. I guess… I was glad about that. However, like I said, what did really mattered anymore? She continued and I listened: "After that second Rasengan, Tsunade was scared that your heart had given up. When she saw you get up again after that, she froze. That's when you reached out your arm and touched her, Naruto. So, congrats! That doesn't' mean I'm still mad at you for doing something foolish!"

"I don't… understand…"

"Don't you get it, Naruto?" Sakura chanted

"You won!"

I lay stunned. I was speechless. Did she just say I won? Tears formed in my eyes. Impossible! There was no way I defeated her. She blocked every technique as if they were snowballs thrown from a five year old. I felt them, the tears. They rolled down my cheeks and fell on the sheets, and they wouldn't stop. I was sniffling. I was crying like a baby. I couldn't help myself, even though I realized… guys aren't supposed to cry. They all fell anyway, like rain they fell. I felt an embrace. It was the pink haired girl, I soaked her shirt instantly, but something else touched my forehead. Ino's lips. She kissed me… even if it was just on the forehead. Except for Tsunade-dono, no one had ever kissed me before, especially not a young girl…

Perhaps, the God above did care about even people like me. So the tears fell, and I was at a loss for words, but the funny thing was; it was okay.

* * *

Notes: I'm keeping the pairing idea way open, but that because this is a long story. However, I have a good idea of which it will, but you won't know the final couple until around chapters 20+;however, that does mean that Naruto might get to have fun with a lot of girls… if I decide that happens. 

Also, guys, the storyline will get a lot more serious during the following chapters, and you'll see why. I think this chapter has turned out to be one of my best, though; but guys, it will keep getting better and better. So please read and review. By review – while it's okay to send a helpful "Great story" once in a while – I mean tell me what you think can help me write this story better and make it more fun for the audience to read.

Well, till two weeks, Ta ta!


	9. Episode Nine: Team 9

Disclaimer- I don't own Naruto, bwah, wah… yeah whatever…

Summary: Naruto, after retrieving Sasuke, begins to learn a little bit more about why he's hated, who his friends really are, and why his attitude is beginning to change.

Morgri- Yeah, I know, this chapter took along time and I should be killed. If it's worth anything, I'm very very sorry. But, on other news, be sure to check out my story "Miracle." If you like this one, than I'm sure you will like that one too…

Now… ON WITH THE STORY DARN IT!

_**When Did You Change?**_

Morgri

**Chapter Nine**:** Team 9**

Never in a million years had I thought that my fight with Tsunade-nee-chan would put as much stress on my body as it did. Waking up in the morning was not the easiest thing in the world, but the pain was well worth it; especially when I turned to see my Konoha head band on the table. Needless to say, with my arms as heavy as they were, it was tough just reaching back for it, and to my dismay I found that I may have needed to rest a little more than I thought. Luckily, with the help of my faaaavorite demon friend, I was sure that I would recuperate quickly. After all, that had been the trademark of my life, to never go down.

One good thing, though, was that after taking a glance at the clock I noticed that it was early in the morning, well for me that is. Today was the earliest day that I had woken up in a while, and though my body was tired, I felt refreshed in both spirit and mind. Don't get me wrong, now, I know that I was no where near the level I should have been to take the Chunin Exam, but with a little extra training, I could probably hold my own in a short fight there. At least I had a new 'friend' to help me. With Ino by my side, I didn't always have to rely on Kakashi-sensei getting to the training field in time. That and I doubted that training with Sasuke was a good idea anyway, while his emotions played him like a stringed guitar. It would have been much too dangerous to stick around with him, that is, until he managed to cool down. Besides, Ino would probably like the idea of getting some training in, with such a lazy team and all.

Don't misunderstand me though, Ino is a very strong person, but just like in the first exam, with so much talent on the field, she probably wouldn't stand a chance. I think anyone would agree that she was lucky to catch Sakura on the field, and not someone like Gaara, Neji, or the Sound Ninja's who wouldn't have cared about the girls well being. Sure, Sakura gave it her all, but no, she wasn't near the level of some of the other competition. Heck, neither was I, the only reason I survived Neji was because I had a little extra training during the extra month of rest. Plus, having the so-called almighty "Kyuubi," was an extreme benefit as well.

I definitely think, though, with a bit of extra training, that Ino could be one of the strongest rookie fighters in Konoha. Granted, her mind control technique isn't the greatest weapon in the world, but I'm sure there is more than one way to manipulate it and turn into a threat. After all, it worked well on Sakura back then, but now that she didn't have that longer hair to act as a trap, she would have come up a new and more surprising way to use the technique, one that could be used over and over again. If she could figure out how to do that, then the possibilities would have been endless.

Plus, now that I think about, if we put so much work into developing her technique, it would make for a great team attack. Back when Shikamaru was on her team, they had managed to use the technique in a fair and efficient manner. The only draw back, was that they hadn't expected the other ninja's to turn on their own teammates. If we could figure out how to use it in a more effective manner, without that hazard, then maybe Ino's team could be more of a threat next time around, assuming they would take the test.

After all, I did care about Ino's well being greatly, she was, in fact, the first person to offer me a true hand in friendship, well, besides Iruka anyway. Atleast she no longer seemed to have that odd fangirl affection for Sasuke anymore, though it was still understood that she like him. But that didn't bother me at all, as long as she continued to at least act like a friend, then I would be happy, without a doubt.

I shifted my body, and in a bit of a painful lunge I managed to push myself off the bed and onto my feet. Shizune-san had left me some slippers near the edge of the bed and I quickly slipped my feet into them to avoid the chills the cold hospital floor would leave on my feet. To my surprise, it was already November (I don't recall mentioning what month it was, but if I did, please remind me so that I can change this), and the cold winds of the winter had begun to sweep Konoha. That meant that there was only one month before the start of the next Chunin exams, and the thought that I had to get into competitive shape (ninja wise) that quickly kind of freaked me out a little. But, I wouldn't be the one to give up that easily. Now that I thought about it, I must of looked mighty weak when I almost instantly gave up on being a ninja. Luckily, Ino was there to get me out of that state of mind, which reminded me, I had to thank her for that.

I walked over towards the small hospital closet. Tsunade-nee-chan had told me that she had left some clothes in there to wear. When I opened it, I was briefly pissed off that there wasn't a swig of orange anywhere on the clothes. I'm justified for that though, after all, orange was my color, and I had worn ever since I was a kid. I'm sure she knew it wouldn't be easy for me to give it up, and it annoyed me to no end that I would have to live these clothes anyway. I had absolutely no money to go out and buy another jump suit; so at the moment I was basically forced to live off whatever and wherever Tsunade-nee-chan desired.

I quickly put on the tee-shirt and heavy sweater that were hanging up. Tsunade-nee-chan had also left me with a set of light, but thick black cargo pants which were obviously good enough to keep me warm, but also easy enough to move in thoroughly should I be put in a battle situation. I didn't really want to admit it, but these clothes were a lot more comfortable than my previous jump suit, and I would secretly thank Tsunade-nee-chan later. After all, it wasn't very common for me to get something for free everyday; normally I would have probably paid twice what it was worth, so that just happened to brighten my day.

I walked to the door and paused a bit before sliding it open. As protective as Tsuande-nee-chan had been lately, I didn't know if I wanted to risk actually leaving the hospital room. I was bored, however, and the idea of having a walk around even something as small as the hospital seemed more exciting than staying in the room. If I were lucky, maybe I would get the chance to see Iruka-sensei, or Ino-chan, besides I needed to talk to her anyway. It was already decided that I would be taking the Chunin exam later on, but I doubted they would have allowed Sasuke to participate this time, especially with the stunt he had pulled last time. And if I knew Sakura, she would have been much more pre-occupied with Sasuke to even think about taking the exam.

Ino too needed an extra teammate since Shikamaru had been promoted during the last exams. It wouldn't bother me at all to join her team for the exams, especially with the way things were going on team 7. Even so, I knew it wouldn't be easy convincing Tsunade-nee-chan to put me on her team, and adding to the problem would be Kakashi-sensei. I was almost sure he could come up with a scheme to allow Sasuke to participate, or try to anyway. That and it was clear already that he had a 'soft spot' for the Uchiha. I couldn't blame Kakashi-sensei for that though because it seemed that he had had some kind of tie to a different Uchiha in the past, thus explaining the Sharingan Eye. Maybe he was just trying to repent for his own past, but in a different way than Sasuke. Who knows though, its nothing I should be dwelling on, after all, his business is his business and mine business is mine.

Though, that glutton Chouji got on my nerves. I would have much rather enjoyed having Hinata on the team. Yes, perhaps two girls – different from the standard two male one female teams they usually had. Though, I wouldn't want Sakura, not that I don't like her or anything, cause I do – I mean, I risked my life for her countless times, so that's a good large display of emotion, right? – But I was tired of Sasuke. Tired of the stupid rivalry we had before. I wasn't his friend and I new I would never become one. Besides, why would anyone want to be in company that didn't encourage you?

Don't tell me you like being around people that put you down all the time? That's not smart, because you will become like me, kind of obnoxious and loud, yearning for attention and then searching for a goal that will someday collapse right in front of your eyes. Is that to say that I can't become Hokage? Not at all, I'm on my way, but with such recent problems, it just seems like an idea to way out there. Do you ever wonder why I help people? You think I'd avoid them right? To tell you the truth, I want to be away from them.

What can I do though? How would I ever become Hokage if I avoid these people? No, I don't hate them, but they do hate me. Every single one of them, save for maybe one or two, but, I really wonder. It's kind of funny, though, these few people interact, they say hello, they say goodbye, they wish me good luck, they cheer for me, and tell me I did a good job, but do they really mean it? Or is it their standard Be-nice-for-today-comment that everyone tries to do at least once – save if you're a pessimist.

But those are just my random thoughts; however, thinking is something that's not for me. Deep thought always returns to the same subject, "Why does everyone hate me?" and sometimes leads me to do some things… well, that I'm not so proud of. So when I do think, it's bad. When I'm in a battle and it doesn't seem like I'm thinking – well I'm not. Strategies can be made at the spur of the moment, but if you think to much you'll be distracted.

Finally, after making up my mind, I opened the door and walked quietly down the halls. A quick trip to the Ichiraku Ramen Stand wouldn't hurt, and the idea of having ramen, for the first time since I was put into the hospital, made me very happy. Besides, I was hungry, I had no money, and the old man was always a sap, this meant he would let me put my bill on tab. Ugh, that's sadly how I live my life, in debt.

It was just a matter of time before I made it to the Ichiraku Ramen place. I had managed to sneak by the hospital attendant and Shizune-san and Tsunade-baa-chan were no where to be found. That made things much simpler. The transformation jutsu was a stroke of genius, and whoever had invented it was a powerful and all knowing man. It was second best only to my own original Sexy no Jutsu, which was guaranteed to work on all men who weren't gay, or that was the theory. So far it had work some 99 of the time.

"Ah! Naruto, come in, come in!" A man shouted.

I was surprised by the quick greeting the man gave me, and I proceeded to greet the man as well. Beside him stood his Beautiful and enchanting daughter Ayame merely waved at me with a smile on her face. Needless to say, the joy ended there because not two seconds later the voice of…

"Naruto…"

"Oh no…"

Tsunade-nee-chan sighed, "Naruto, what is it going to take for me to keep you in the hospital?" She spoke, seemingly defeated.

Shizune sat next to her with the same defeated frown and motioned for me to walk over to her. I hesitated a bit before walking over and sitting in the chair with the two women.

"What would you like," Tsunade-nee-chan asked me.

"You're paying for me?"

"Do you have any money?"

"Eh…" I laughed nervously and turned to give my order. Miso-ramen was my usual meal here, but I was surprised when Tsunade-nee-chan barked over me and ordered the most expensive meal on the lot.

"Give him the Deluxe Meal," She said while turning to face me, "You need a real meal, at least, not that Miso crap."

"But that's…"

"Shut up and enjoy it."

I smiled happily. Tsunade-nee-chan really was a kind person when it came down to it. Even despite the several knock punches, kicks, and slaps I received every once in a while. But it was a small price to pay for the extra umph she brought into my life. She was one of my precious persons; one of those that I would have gladly given my life for, if it came down to that one day.

"But after this, it's back to your room! I told you specifically that you weren't to leave until next week."

"Aww, but I lose a whole week of training!"

"Recovery is always more important then training."

"Fine…"

* * *

Ino POV

* * *

"Gaaahhh!"

I had to be on the most boneheaded team ever! The fact that they would do close too or absolutely no training at all pissed me of to no end. I swear, one day it was going to drive me crazy! Here we are, one month away from the Chunin exams, which we all pretty much failed miserably last time (minus Shikamaru, his lazy ass got lucky), and they, yes not I, but THEY, were just moping around eating or playing chess! There had to be some kind of solution to this problem. Some one to train with…

But nooooo, not even dad was around to help. He was sent off on some; yeah you guessed it, one friekin month mission only two days ago. My mom wasn't much of a ninja either; she had abandoned that post after I was born and lost most of her skills as a decent ninja. I didn't blame her for that though; twelve years with out practice would probably do that to anyone.

Sigh I needed a change, I need a change. I needed someone who would bring more excitement to the team, some one who would encourage training and hard work. At this point, even Lee and the annoying Kiba intrigued me more than what I had. To my dismay, however, they all still had their full teams, and would be taking their exams together again. The same held true with Naruto's team, somehow I figured he would be taking his exam with his own teammates as well.

Knowing my luck, another pointless and uninteresting ninja would be placed on my team, and the whole cycle would start over again. I would get no where. Yes I know, searching and asking other teachers to help seemed like a good idea in theory, but they were all too focused on their own teams to really pay attention to me. I had tried to get help with Kurenai, Team 8's sensei, but she had refused telling me she was too busy preparing her other students for the exam.

At this point, I felt like I was out of luck and that I would inevitably fail the Chunin exams again. I don't even think I had a reason to take it. But knowing my own lazy sensei, he wouldn't pass of the chance to 'show off' his amazing students in the battlefield. Hopefully, with how things had been playing out lately, I would have last years luck and end up fighting a ninja at my level, instead of some crazy maniac like Gaara or Neji.

True, I had heard they had improved a certain extent, but who knew what other crazy maniacs would enter this years exam. I shivered at the thought. I didn't want to die because my own sensei refused to help me better my ninja skills. If it came down to it, I would just forfeit and leave the field. Sure, this sounds like a coward's thing to do, but there a difference between being smart and afraid; and throwing my life away by being 'brave' and fighting someone I know I can't beat doesn't seem like a great idea to me. That's something an idiot would do.

Worse off, Shikamaru, the brains of our operation (and yes I know, I admitted it, Shikamaru was the person that kept us alive the first time) had gone off to live the life of a Chunin. That didn't really help raise my spirits. The two people I knew I could really count on in a fight were either gone or recovering by eating bags and bags of potato chips. Now I was left to pray that some decent ninja seeking to take the exam would be placed on my team… How many of those are left?

"Sheesh," I wondered if it could get any worse.

'_I need to stop thinking about these things; it's only going to make the situation more troublesome.' _Dang, now I was beginning to sound more like Shikamaru, that wasn't good at all. I needed to find some place to relieve my self of my predicament. Maybe some comic relief or something like that might do the trick. I left to the hospital, maybe Naruto could help me out, he was always good at cheering up people, or so it seemed. Besides, there were better things to do than to hang out here.

* * *

Naruto POV

* * *

"Naruto," Tsunade-nee-chan gained my attention. She looked serious, so I turned all my attention to her, "I've put a lot of thought into this, and I've decided it's best that."

"That what?" I asked curiously. She wasn't going to deny me of the Chunin exams was she? She had demoted me last time, so I figured that anything could happen this time around. However, I was prepared this time around, hopefully I wouldn't have to make a ruckus.

"That you will be placed on Team 9 consisting of Akamachi (sp?) Chouji and Yamanaka Ino. For now, you will be under the care of Asuma."

Wow, now that wasn't one I was expecting…

"Wha… What?"

"Under his current circumstances the Uchiha will be barred from taking the exam. Ms. Haruno has also expressed that she would not take the exam with out him," See… I told you so, "With the promotion of Nara Shikamaru, Team 9 also lacks a one member to participate in the exams. That and it's the only option I'm giving you." She said, as she began to glare at me. I gulped.

"I've already told Asuma, and he will inform his teammates of your arrival tomorrow morning."

Well one thing was for sure, I didn't have to worry about asking her to switch teams. I don't think it could have turned out better for me. In just short period of time, I had gone from being in a dysfunctional Team that was already torn apart, to a team that I might have been able to start a new beginning. What made it better was that Ino was on the team and I didn't have to worry anymore about not being able to protect her. There was no way I would let her go to the Chunin as unprepared as she did last time. Even I could see she wasn't ready… but this time, I would make sure she was.

I had learned that being selfish on the battlefield was the worst mistake you could make. The number one priority was not the mission; it was the safety of your team. This time I would make sure we had that.

I didn't want us to be another Team 7.

* * *

Morgri: Alright so, after a long time waiting, I give you chapter nine. Not much to this one, all of thoughts and stuff. But you'll find that some things did happen. Since it's summer, I'll have a lot more time to write, so you can probably expect updates a lot sooner than before.

I checked for mistakes 4 times, so it should be relatively clean… if not, let me know about it with all your hatred.

Ja Ne


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